Thank you to everyone who has read this story! I started this just for me, to try to get back into writing again, and I didn't think so many people who love it. For those of you who read Only When You're Close, I haven't forgotten about it! I'm working on the next chapter now and I'm sorry it's taken so long. I didn't want to force myself to write it and then it not be good for you readers. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it and publish for you soon! Anyways, here's the next chapter and I hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think, please!
"Who's that?" One of Marcus Redman's bodyguards shouted as they noticed Oliver and Amelia standing on the helipad with them.
The one who shouted ran up to Oliver, fist ready to punch. Oliver easily dodged it, using his bow to move the man's fist away from his face before he punched the man himself, once in the face and then another in the throat. Using the man's weight, Oliver threw him to the ground as the next three bodyguards started to make their way to him and Amelia. Quickly punching the one to her left in the side, Amelia then ducked a kick from the one in front of them as Oliver punched him in the stomach. The one to their right tried to kick Oliver but he quickly used his foot to stop the kick as Amelia kicked the guy in the middle hard to enough to make him crumple to the ground. The one to the right was trying to punch Oliver again, only to be knocked out by him as he kicked the last bodyguard behind them in the gut.
With the three men now unconscious, Oliver pulled out an arrow and shot it at on of the men standing next to Redman, knocking his gun out of his hand. Amelia heard movement from behind them and, without looking, threw a dagger into the man's shoulder. As Oliver punched out the last of Redman's bodyguards, Amelia came up to Redman and grabbed his collar.
"Whoa, whoa!" Reman exclaimed as Amelia came up to him. "Easy, wait, wait!"
Amelia easily tossed Redman over onto a lower part of the roof, her and Oliver jumping down to join him. Oliver had jumped onto the giant fan that Amelia had tossed Redman on, kicking off part of the metal covering as Amelia held his face inches from the fan blades.
"Marcus Redman." Oliver began. "You have failed this city."
"Please, no, no, no." Reman begged.
"Cell phone, inside pocket, call your partner." Amelia's voice was deadly as she held his ace closer to the blades. "Tell him to give those pensioners back their money." Redman began to sob. "Do it now!"
"Okay!" Redman's voice broke as he said this.
Oliver and Amelia quickly jumped away with triumphant smiles on their faces, their work for the night done.
—-
It had been a week since Oliver and Amelia had returned from the island they'd been trapped on for 5 years, and today, they were finally being pronounced, legally speaking, back from the dead. Amelia had borrowed yet another outfit from Thea, but had promised her that they would go shopping soon. Slipping on a pair of tan ankle high boots, Amelia took in her appearance, hoping that it was appropriate for court. She wore a high waisted beige shirt that fell to the middle of her tights, making her legs looking longer than they already were, paired with a long sleeved white button up blouse that hid all of her scars perfectly.
She heard a knock on her door, before seeing Oliver walk in, dressed in a suit. "Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Amelia replied.
Oliver nodded as she followed him into the hallway and to the living room where Moira, Walter and Thea were watching the news.
"Over the past 15 years, Mr. Redman has withdrawn more than $30 million from the plan's account. Mr. Redman claims refunding the Halcyon pension plan has always been his intent. But sources say Redman was coerced by the vigilante." The newscaster's voice came through the speakers, causing Amelia to smirk slightly, remembering how terrified Redman had been when they paid him a visit the night before.
"This guy gets more air-time than the Kardashians, right?" Oliver joked, gesturing to the television.
"Five years on an island and you still know who they are." Thea commented dryly.
"We've been catching up." Amelia told them, still shocked by everything they had missed in 5 years. "It's nice to see how much our culture has improved while we've been away.
"But the city used to be different." Moira said from her chair. "People used to feel safe."
"Aw, what the matter, Mom?" Thea asked with a smile. "Afraid we're gonna be next?"
"Do you have any questions about today, Oliver, Amelia?" Walter asked, trying to keep the peace between everyone. "It's a simple proof-of-life declaration. Just read out a brief, prepared statement to the judge, and then your death-in-absentia judgment will be voided."
"We'll be fine, Walter." Oliver reassured him. "I've been in a courtroom before."
"Four times by my estimate." Tommy said, making an entrance as always. "You know, there was the DUI, the assault on that paparazzi douchebag, stealing that taxi, which was just awesome, by the way, and who could forget peeing on the cop?"
"I wish everyone would." Moira sighed.
"I'd hang, but we're headed to court." Oliver told him.
"I know, that's why I'm here." Tommy came and stood between Oliver and Amelia, putting an arm around each of their shoulders. "My best friends are getting legally resurrected. I wouldn't miss this for the world."
"Right, okay." Oliver turned to Thea. "What about you?"
"Oh, I think the first four times of you in court was enough for me." Thea said as she left the room.
Amelia chuckled. "Fair enough."
"Mrs. Queen?" Dig's voice rang out as he came into the room, buttoning his suit jacket as he did so. "Car's ready."
Moira nodded her thanks at Dig before making her way to the exit. Tommy held out his arm for her, trying to be a gentleman, but she just gave him her signature look and walking right by him. Tommy followed the two, leaving Oliver and Amelia alone for a minute. Oliver held out his arm for Amelia who took it with a small smile as they made their way out to the car with everyone else.
The car ride was rather quiet, no one really saying anything and Amelia was too nervous to fill the silence with her babbling or idle chitchat, something she would've done before the island. Chewing in her nails and picking at her fingers were some of her nervous habits and she had been doing both the whole car ride. It wasn't until Oliver silently grabbed her hand with his own, giving it a light squeeze, that she realized what she was doing. She returned the gesture with a small smile while mouthing thank you to him, hoping no one else in the car noticed.
When they pulled up to the courthouse, paparazzi were already swarming the steps and upon seeing the car, all of them immediately moved to crowd around it. Oliver was the first to step out, with Amelia right behind him, trying to fight his way through the crowd of people.
"Are you going to testify as to what happened when the yacht sank?" A voice came out from the crowd.
"Are you going to talk about the boat crash?" Another voice asked.
"Mr. Queen, Ms. Kingston, did you see Sarah Lance die?"
Amelia's grip on Oliver's hand tightened as he pulled her into his side, pushing more forcefully through the huddle of people around them. Once inside the courthouse, The group went up stairs to the room that their hearing was at. Dig had gotten in front of Oliver and Amelia as they made their way down the hall and held the door to the room open for them. Amelia noticed there were quite a few people in the room, probably wanting to hear what happened for themselves.
Oliver and Amelia made their way to the small table in front of the judge, both of them sitting down next to the attorney that Moira and Walter had hired for them. Sitting down, the attorney nodded at them, before looking to the judge. After a few moments, the judge banged her gavel, calling order to her court, and then addressed Oliver and Amelia.
"Please, tell the court, in your own words, what happened when the boat went down." The judge's tone was kind as if she knew how hard it was going to be for Oliver and Amelia to relive the night.
Oliver stood from his chair and made his way to the side of the table, clearing his throat. "There was a storm. The boat went down. We were the only survivors. My father didn't make it." Oliver's voice broke a little as he said this. "I almost died, I…I thought that I had, because we spent so many days on that life raft before we saw the island. When I reached it, I knew…I knew that I was going to have to live for my father and Amelia. She is the only reason I am alive today. And in those five years, it was that one thought that kept me going."
There was a heavy silence that filled the room when Oliver finished his statement, returning to his chair. The judge nodded solemnly at him before she turned her attention to Amelia.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Kingston, but we're going to need your own statement of what happened, no matter how closely it resembles Mr. Queen's." The judge told her.
Amelia nodded, standing up to stand next to the table as Oliver did. Taking a breath, she began. "There was a storm, I tried to leave my room to see what was happening in the boat when it went down. I remember darkness, thinking I had died, before Oliver pulled me onto the life raft. I don't know how he saw me but he did. I don't know how many days it was until we saw that island, I felt like i was going to die and it was a welcomed thought." Amelia's voice broke as she remembered those times and she felt the warmth of Oliver's hand as he took hers and squeezed it, giving her strength.
"When we reached the island, I thought that we were saved but I quickly realized we were in just as much danger there as we were on that life raft. During those five years, I just thought of surviving and making it back home and without Oliver, I don't think I would have lived." Amelia finished with a shuddering breath before she moved to sit down next to Oliver and the attorney.
After another long silence, the attorney stood up and spoke to the judge, moving to the middle of the room to be heard better. "Your Honor, we move to vitiate the death-in- absentia filed after Oliver and Amelia's disappearance at sea aboard the Queen's Gambit five years ago. Unfortunately we will not be requesting that the declaration of death filed for the petitioner's father, Robert Queen, be rescinded. The Queen and Kingston families are only entitled to one miracle each, I'm afraid."
"Request granted." The judge announced. "Court dismissed!"
With a bang of the gavel, people started to leave the room, leaving Amelia, Oliver, Tommy, Moira and Walter in the room, waiting for everyone else to clear out before they left. Seeing the last person leave, Oliver and Amelia stood up and joined the rest of their party to leave the courtroom. There was a silence among everyone, no one really knowing what to say but Moira was the first to speak as they started to descend the stairs to the first floor of the courthouse.
"Now," Moira began. "onto the offices. Everyone is waiting to meet you there."
"Um, Mom," Oliver said hesitantly, stopping on the stairs, "that was…a little but heavier than I was expecting it to be. Can we do that tomorrow? Please?"
Moira looked to Walter who nodded. "Of course." was her simple reply.
"Thank you." Oliver said as Moira and Walter made their way down the stairs and away from him, Tommy and Amelia.
"Last week, you couldn't wait to get to the company.
"Tommy, we'd just spent five years away from civilization. He wasn't exactly thinking straight." Amelia said, patting Oliver on the chest as they made their way to the landing of the first floor, almost running into Laurel and two other women with her.
"I…HI." Oliver's eloquent reply came out as Amelia just shook her head at him.
"What are you doing here?" Laurel demanded, obviously shocked to see them here.
"Oh," Oliver blinked, trying to regain his thoughts. "they were bringing us back from the dead. Legally speaking. What are you doing here?"
"My job." Laurel deadpanned.
"Right." Oliver replied quickly, Amelia could sense the tension between the two and she wanted nothing more than to leave.
"More like the D.A.'s." Laurel's coworker, Joanna, interjected.
Oliver introduced himself to the blonde girl standing slightly behind Laurel. "Hi, Oliver Queen."
"Amelia Kingston." Amelia greeted with a smile.
The girl reached out and shook Oliver's hand. "Emily Nocenti."
"Oliver just got back from five years on an uncharted island. Before that, he was cheating on me with my sister, and more than likely, with her as well." Laurel threw a glance at Amelia before continuing. "They were with her when she died. And last week, he told me to stay away from him. It was really good advice. Excuse me."
Laurel brushed past Oliver and Tommy without another word, leaving Joanna and Emily to stand there awkwardly for a moment.
"It was nice to meet you both." Emily said kindly as her and Joanna made their way after Laurel.
Amelia watched as the three ascended the stairs they had just come down, then looked at Oliver to see a hard look on his face. She shook her head, knowing the effect Laurel still had on him, looking over at Tommy who was watching Oliver just as carefully.
"Come on, buddy." Tommy said as he patted Oliver on the back and chest. "Shake it off. Let's go."
The three made their way out of the courthouse only to be greeted by the paparazzi surrounding another man who was giving a statement to them. Amelia and Oliver stopped at the top of the stairs to listen.
"Mr. Somers! Mr. Somers! What do you have to say about the accusations made by Laurel Lance?" One of the female reporters asked the man.
"I don't know what I've done to earn this witch-hunt from Miss Lance and her bosses at the CNRI. But I can tell you this. I am an honest businessman, and I will fight this slander to my last dime and breath. That's all I have to say, thank you. " The man, Martin Somers, walked away from the reporters who then turned their attention on Amelia and Oliver.
"Oh, there's Mr. Queen and Ms. Kingston… Mr. Queen, do you want to follow up?" One reporter shouted at them. "What happened in there?"
"Tell us what happened inside, Ms. Kingston…" Another reporter was trying their best to get Amelia to talk, but she just pushed ahead with Oliver and Tommy.
"Step back everybody, please." Dig had suddenly appeared next to Oliver and Amelia, and she was thankful in that moment that they had him there to help wrangle the reporters away.
"Can you give us a couple comments about the island, Mr. Queen? Ms. Kingston?" A rather pushy reporter was shoving his camera in their faces as he was shouting at them. "Before you go, please. Couple of comments about the island. What happened in there?"
Dig had ushered Oliver and Amelia into the car by now and she could hear him fighting with the reporter who was still trying to take pictures of the two as the got into the car.
"Everybody, step back. Hey man, I'll make you swallow that Nikon. Back!" Amelia heard Dig's voice outside the car before nodding to Oliver that it was clear.
Swiftly, Oliver climbed into the front seat and sped away, leaving Dig and Tommy standing amongst the reporters, confused as to what just happened. Amelia let out a sigh of relief as Oliver navigated their way away from the courthouse and to their lair. Looking over at Oliver, she noticed that he had a look of determination on his face.
Amelia sighed, looking behind her and out the back window of the car. "I feel a little guilty for always ditching Dig."
Oliver arched an eyebrow at her. "Why, Ellie? You know no one can know our secret."
"I know, Ollie." Amelia replied. "I like him, though, and I hate that he got stuck with us, the two billionaires moonlighting as vigilantes who keep disappearing on him. Eventually he's going to get tired of us and quit."
"You do have a point." Oliver mused as he made his way through the streets of the Glades.
"Maybe we should come up with some sort of cover story to explain where we spend our night." Amelia told Oliver who just nodded in reply, clearly still thinking about Laurel.
"So what happened between you and Laurel?" Amelia asked, turning her attention to Oliver.
"Nothing happened." Oliver lied earning him a look from Amelia. Sighing, he told her the truth. "At our party, I told her that it'd be best if she just stayed away from me. With everything going on, I thought that pushing her away would make it easier."
"How's that working out for you so far?" Amelia asked playfully, trying to lighten his mood.
Oliver signed again as he pulled over, parking far enough away from the factory that no one would know where they were, but close enough for them to walk. "Harder than I thought."
Amelia got out of the car and walked around it to Oliver. "We knew this was going to be hard but it'll get easier."
"I hope you're right, Ellie." Oliver's voice held no hope as he said those words, even though he wanted to believe Amelia.
The rest of the walk to the factory was quiet and Amelia knew Oliver was lost in his own thoughts. Making their way down to the basement, Amelia went to her bag where she kept some workout gear, that she had bought with everything else, and grabbed a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra before going behind a room divider to change. Once she reappeared, she saw that Oliver had discarded his shirt and was climbing the giant rope he had hanging off to the side. Knowing he had to get some of his frustrations out through this, Amelia decided to take out the morning of reliving the first few days on the island by working with the Wing Chun dummies.
After what seemed like hours or striking the rods on the dummies, Amelia finally stopped and walked over to where Oliver had just sat at one of the computers, looking at his father's book.
"Martin Somers." Amelia read the name out loud. "Laurel is targeting the worst of Starling City, isn't she. I'm not surprised his name is in the list."
"The city's police and the D.A. can't stop him…or won't." Oliver told her. "If Laurel thinks she's the only one will to bring him to justice…she's wrong."
Amelia smirked as she walked over to her wooden suitcase that held her hood, a little excited to let her frustrations out on a live target.
—
Amelia and Oliver had made their way down the docks where Martin Somers conducted his business, prepared to give him a chance to do the right thing. Amelia thought that it was a waste of time but she knew that Oliver wanted to give everyone a chance to own up to their mistakes before things got messy. Making sure they were out of sight, Amelia could hear Somers berating his men.
"You, listen up!" Somers shouted as he started to make his way to his desk. "The longer this goes on, the more likely the media is gonna crucify me. You shut this trial down, do you understand me?"
Amelia heard the distinct sound of Oliver shooting an arrow, taking out the lights as she hurled a dagger into Somers' men, taking slight pleasure in the groans they made as they crumpled to the ground. The lights flickered back on long enough for Somers to see that his men were taken out and for Oliver to sneak up behind him and render him unconscious. Amelia helped Oliver drag Somers out to edge of the docks where Oliver tied him up, hanging upside down. They both waited for Somers to wake up, knowing it wouldn't be much longer.
"What the hell?" Somers' voice croaked out as he woke up to see the two hooded figures standing feet from him.
"Martin Somers…" Oliver began as he grabbed an arrow and poised it on his bow.
"Who the hell are you?" Somers questioned, anger and fear evident in his voice.
"You've failed this city." Amelia finished as Oliver's arrow flew through the air, missing a swinging Somers.
"No!" Somers pleaded. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"You're gonna testify in that trial. You're gonna confess to having Victor Nocenti killed." Oliver demanded, anger in his voice.
"There won't be a second warning." Amelia threatened, letting one of her daggers fly through the air, grazing Somers' cheek.
As Somers clutched his cheek, Amelia and Oliver quickly fled the docks, leaving Somers to find his own down, as they headed back to the lair. Amelia went over to where she left her clothes from the hearing and changed, wondering how they were going to explain ditching Dig this time. She knew it was only a matter of time before he got fed up with them, and honestly, she was surprised he'd let them go on this long.
"Ready?" Oliver asked as Amelia emerged from behind her changing screen.
"What's going to be our excuse this time?" Amelia voiced her thoughts as her and Oliver made their way out of the factory and back to the car.
Oliver pursed his lips, taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure yet."
Amelia smirked as she slid into the passenger seat of the car. "We can't keep disappearing without any cover for much longer."
"I know, I know." Oliver sighed as he started to make his way back to the Queen mansion. "I'll think of something."
Amelia just shook her head, chuckling slightly as Oliver navigated his way through the streets, taking them further and further away from the city. The rest of the car ride was quiet, both of them enjoying the comfortable silence between them and soon, Oliver was pulling into the driveway of the mansion. The two made their way into the house and Amelia could hear Moira scolding Dig as soon as the opened the door.
"I hired you to protect my son and Amelia." Moira began. "Now, I'm not a professional bodyguard, but it seems to me that the first requirement would be managing to stay next to the man you're hired to protect."
"With all due respect, ma'am, I never had a client who didn't want my protection." Dig told her, trying to stay professional and defend himself at the same time.
"I hired you. That makes me the client." Moira pointed out, clearly frustrated. "Now where do you think those two are going on these chaperone-less excursions?"
"Ma'am, I truly do not know." Dig replied truthfully.
"And he truly doesn't." Oliver announced as he and Amelia made their presence known.
"Then perhaps you'd like to share with me, you know, where it is you run off to." Moira demanded, turning her attention to Oliver and Amelia.
"I've been alone for five years." Oliver stated obviously.
"Well, Oliver, you had Amelia." Moira replied, confused as to where Oliver was going with this.
"No, Mom…Alone." Oliver implied with a look. "Even though everyone most likely thinks that I was with Amelia, we weren't."
"Oh…I see." Moira says, realizing what Oliver is hinting at. "So the two of you are…?"
"We're just getting to know civilization again." Amelia told her. "So to speak."
"I promise to introduce her if it ever gets to the exchanging first names stage." Oliver joked, giving Moira a slight smile.
"No, I'd rather you promise to take Mr. Diggle with you on your next rendezvous." Moira crossed the room to stand in front of Oliver. "It's not safe, you've already been abducted once. There are maniacs out there, hunting the wealthy."
"Those maniacs saved my life." Oliver pointed out.
"This isn't a game." Moira's tone turned from anger to sadness. "I lost you once. And I am not going through that again."
Oliver's face softened as he replied. "Okay. Dig's my guy."
"Thank you." Moira said gratefully before leaving the room.
Oliver turned to Dig. "Sorry to give you so much grief."
Amelia looked apologetic as Dig came around to stand near her and Oliver. "We didn't mean to get you in trouble."
"I served three tours in Afghanistan, Mr. Queen. You don't even come close to my definition of grief." Dig began, standing in front of Oliver now. "But I tell you what... You ditch me one more time, no one will have to fire me."
As Dig exited the room, Thea walked by the doorway, dressed up to go out even though it was already too late for her to be leaving. Amelia eyed her outfit and wondered where she could possibly be going, especially since she was underage.
"Where you going?" Oliver asked, causing Thea to stop.
"Uh... Somewhere loud and smoky." Thea stated as she turned her attention to Amelia. "And don't bother trying to pickpocket my stash this time, because I'm gonna go get drunk instead."
Oliver sighed deeply as he stepped closer to his sister. "Thea, do you think this is what Dad would want for you?"
"Dead people don't want anything. It's one of the benefits of being dead." Thea's tone turned cold as she spoke.
"I was dead." Oliver reminded her. "And I wanted a lot."
"Except for your family. You've been home a week and all you do is avoid Mom, ignore Walter, and judge me. Don't wait up." Thea pointed out before she left Oliver standing there looking after her, not sure what to say.
Amelia came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ollie, don't listen to her."
"No, Ellie, she's right." Oliver said, turning around to pace around the room. "Ever since we got back, I haven't really been around."
"Well, we didn't think this would be as hard as it has been." Amelia rationalized. "Plus, I don't think we ever stopped to think about how much could've changed while we were gone."
Oliver stopped pacing and sighed deeply. "I guess you're right."
"I know I am." Amelia said smugly. "It's only been a week. It'll get better trying to juggle everything. It'll just take time."
"I hope you're right about that." Oliver replied with a small smile.
"Come on." Amelia tugged on Oliver's hand, leading him towards the stairs. "Let's get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow."
—
The next day, Walter and Moira wanted to show Oliver and Amelia the offices, as they planned on doing a few days prior. All of them were in the elevator heading up to the top floor where Walter's office was. Amelia had to admit she was quite impressed with how much Queen Consolidated had grown in the time they were gone. She knew that Robert was a great businessman, just like her father, but she was glad to see that the company was in good hands with Walter as well.
"As you can see, we've modernized quite a bit." Wanted told them as they stepped out of the elevator.
A few women passed by, smiling brightly at Oliver.
"Hi." He said, turning around to watch them walk away.
Moira shook her head at her son. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Yes, I am." Oliver told her as they entered Walter's office.
"I remember when your father used to bring you here when you were a boy. You always were so excited." Walter reminisced as they stood in the huge room.
"Dad let me drink soda in the office." Oliver confessed, a small smile gracing his features as he remembered the times he spent here with his father.
"Ah!" Moira announced. "So that's why you enjoyed coming."
"The Queen Consolidated's success of late is a result of its targeted diversification." Walter told them. "We have been making impressive inroads in cutting-edge fields like bio-tech and clean energy."
"Really?" Amelia commented, actually interested in what they were doing.
"That's neat." Oliver said offhandedly, clearly not paying attention as he turned to the assistant sitting on the other side of the glass. "Excuse me? Can I get a sparkling water, or something cold, please?"
"Sweetheart, Oliver, Walter and I have something to discuss with you. Come, please sit." Moira gestured to the couch and chairs that she was standing next to.
"Mom, it makes me nervous when you ask me to sit down." Oliver said as he stayed standing where he was.
"The company's about to break ground on a new site for the Applied Sciences division, and we would like to honor your father by dedicating the building in his name." Walter explained.
"That sounds nice." Amelia said, looking at Oliver who just nodded.
"And we'd like to make an announcement at the dedication that you will be taking a leadership position in the company." Moira announced, looking to Oliver expectantly.
"No." Oliver declined.
"No, your... Your company." Moira corrected.
"Not only his company, Moira." Another voice chimed in.
Amelia's head snapped up to the doors, knowing that voice anywhere even if it had been years since she heard it. Her wide, green eyes were met with the dark, cold ones of her father, Maddox Kingston. He hadn't changed at all since the last time she saw him. His dark hair was still shaved so that only a thin layer was visible with his signature facial hair cut short to match. He was dressed in an expensive suit, almost as if he came from a meeting, and nothing in his expression showed that he was worried about his daughter in the slightest.
"Amelia." He greeted, nodding his head her direction as he looked her over.
"Father." She replied curtly, still in shock that her own father was standing before her.
"Maddox, what are you doing here?" Moira asked, clearly confused by the mans presence.
"Moira, always a pleasure." Maddox said, hardly acknowledging Moira's presence. "I thought it was about time I finally got to get reacquainted with my daughter. It has been quite a long time since we last saw each other."
Maddox stepped forward, gesturing to the glass conference room to his right. "Excuse us for a moment." Maddox told Moria, Walter and Oliver. "Let's have a chat, shall we, dear?"
Amelia glanced up at Oliver who gave her a small nod in reassurance as she made her way to the empty room. Maddox held the door open for her, smiling slightly as she passed by. Amelia stood behind one of the chairs at the table, waiting patiently for her father to join her. Maddox went to the opposite side of the table, pulling out on of the chairs and sitting down, motioning for Amelia to do the same.
Amelia watched as he studied her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was the same spoiled Amelia that had left on that yacht five years ago but she was keeping her face blank, just as he taught her to do. It was no secret that Maddox Kingston was more of a business man then he ever was a father. He used everything and everyone to his advantage, including his own daughter.
A deafening silence filled the small conference room as Amelia waiting for her father to speak. She kept her hands under the table, refusing to show how she was anxiously picking at her cuticles. She could feel Oliver staring at them through the glass, knowing he was worried about her, and she wondered how much longer her father was going to make her wait before he revealed why he was here.
"Well, I'm glad to see the rumors are true." Maddox announced casually.
"Rumors? My face has been all over the news." Amelia pointed out.
"Yes, well, after five years you'd be amazed at what lengths some crackpots will go to to extort money from me." Maddox responded matter-of-factly. "I hope the hospital stay wasn't too awful. I would've been there myself but I had other matter to attend to."
Amelia didn't expect a heartfelt reunion between her and her father, not like the one that Moira and Oliver had shared back at the hospital. Any chance of a normal father daughter relationship was lost long before Amelia had gone missing on the Queens Gambit. Growing up, Amelia had tried everything from acting out to spending thousands of dollars on frivolous things to get her father's attention but nothing worked. She knew coming back from the dead wouldn't cause her father to act any differently.
"Don't worry about it." Amelia replied, causing her father to raise an eyebrow at her, slightly shocked at the calm response.
Maddox suddenly pulled his phone from the inside pocket of his suit, completely ignoring his daughter as he typed. Amelia glance out the glass at Oliver, only to see him and Moira in a slightly heated discussion. She sighed slightly before looking back to her father who was now tucking his phone away as he was standing up.
"Well, I have something I need to go take care of. I suppose you'd like your credit cards and trust fund unfrozen now. I'll have my assistant work on getting you those. In the mean time, here's one of my platinums if you should need anything." Maddox slid the small piece of plastic over to Amelia.
"Thank you." Amelia said simply, accepting the credit card, standing as well.
"Welcome home, Amelia. We should do dinner one night this week, talk a bit more." Maddox suggested, opening a door that was on the other side of the room, leading directly into the hallway.
"Of course, Father." Amelia automatically responded, watching him as he walked out.
Amelia turned to look in the office, only to see that Oliver and Moira were still arguing while Walter stood by helplessly. Not wanting to deal with anymore family drama at the moment, she chose to go the route her father took, heading straight down to the car to wait for Oliver. As she made her way outside, the press were waiting eagerly, trying to get any comment out of her.
"There she is!" One of the reporters yelled, a flash going off in Amelia's face.
Shoving her way through the crowd of reporters, Amelia slid into the car, leaning her head against the headrest, sighing deeply. She knew that her father would act that way, cold and uncaring, just as he acted her whole life, but that didn't stop the slight twinge of pain she felt at his actions. Breaking her thoughts, the door to the car opened, allowing Oliver and Dig to slide in with her.
"The driver will be here in a minute." Dig told them.
"Okay." Oliver replied, looking over at Amelia.
"You know, I spent the first 27 years of my life in Starling City, and the next five in Afghanistan. You want to know what I learned?" Dig asked, looking at both Oliver and Amelia.
"There's no place like home?" Amelia supplied, trying to keep her voice light.
"No, just the opposite. Home is a battlefield. Back home, they're all trying to get you. Get you to open up, be somebody you're not sure you are anymore." Dig paused slightly, as if waiting for the two to respond in some way. "Or I could be wrong. Maybe after five years alone, you two aren't as messed up in the head as you have every right to be."
—
The ride back to the Queen Mansion was a quiet one. Oliver didn't want to ask Amelia what had happened with her father in front of Dig, and he knew better than to try and pry it out of her. Doing that would only push her away, something he had come to learn when they were younger when he'd try to get her to open up to him and Tommy. Instead, she would just retreat into herself and become even more distant, so he'd wait until Amelia would let him in.
Once back at the mansion, Amelia and Oliver made their way up to his room, thinking about what to do with Somers if he didn't do what they had asked of him. Amelia was sitting on the edge of Oliver's bed, watching the news story on Martin Somers that was playing on the computer while Oliver was changing into a more casual outfit.
"Ellie…" Oliver began as he took off his shirt and went to find another.
"Ollie," Amelia interrupted, "don't worry about me. I'm okay."
Oliver gave her a look saying he didn't believe that at all. "You know I'm here for you." He reminded her, trying not to push her too hard.
"I know." Amelia said softly. "There's just not a lot to say. He was the same cold and uncaring person he's always been. You know my father."
"I'm sorry, Ellie." Oliver apologized, grabbing a new shirt and walking over to the computer, listening to the story.
"Attorney for shipping magnate, Martin Somers, has confirmed his client has no intention of testifying, maintaining his innocence in the wrongful death of Victor Nocenti. Nocenti's body was found four weeks ago. We'll keep you updated as more information becomes available." The news anchor's voice faded away as the story ended.
"Wait, how did you get those?" Thea's voice rang out from behind Oliver, who had just pulled his shirt on.
"Don't you knock?" Oliver groaned out, trying to quickly button up his shirt.
"No, wait..." Thea had crossed his room, pulling the fabric back so she could take a better look at Oliver's scars. "Mom said that there were scars, but... I'm...what happened to you guys out there?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Oliver replied, looking away from his sister.
"Of course you don't." Thea spat out angrily. "You never want to talk to me about anything. Except for my social life. Not even you, Amelia, and you used to be like my sister."
"Wait!" Oliver called out as Thea began to storm out of his room. "Where are you going?"
"Why should I tell you?" Thea retorted, crossing her arms in defiance.
Amelia looked over to Oliver who opened his mouth but wasn't quite sure what to say yet. "We're sorry, Thea."
"I need to get better at talking about what happened to me there. But I'm not ready yet. Okay?" Oliver finally found his words, looking to see if he was forgiven by his little sister.
"Do you have a second?" Thea abruptly asked, looking between Oliver and Amelia.
"Of course." Amelia replied, standing up and moving next to Oliver.
"Good. I wanna show you something out back." Thea motioned for them to follow her.
Thea lead Amelia and Oliver out to the spacious backyard of the Queen Mansion, the same one that Amelia remembered playing in with Oliver and Amelia when they were much younger. The three made had walked for a few minutes before Amelia realized what Thea was showing them. In the perfect green grass of the backyard, three gravestones stood, one for Robert, one for Oliver and even one for Amelia.
Amelia sucked in a breath, not expecting this when Thea asked them back here. She knew that the Queens had always considered her part of their family but she found it a bit odd that her headstone was here, and not with her mothers. However, she wasn't as shocked as she probably should have been.
"Your father didn't have a funeral service for you." Thea explained, looking over at Amelia. "Mom didn't think that was right so she had one here for you, with Oliver and Dad. She always considered you to be part of our family and she wanted to make sure that you were remembered as that as well."
"That was very sweet of her." Amelia commented, giving Thea a small smile.
"Sometimes, when I felt... Whatever...I'd come here." Thea began, gesturing to the graves in front of her. "About a month after the funerals, Mom stopped going out. Pretty soon, she stopped talking altogether. The house got so quiet, so I'd come here. To talk to you.l I mean, stupid stuff. Like what I was doing that day, what boy I had a crush on... And then sometimes, I'd ask you, beg you, to find your way home to me. Now, here you are. And the truth is, I felt closer to you when you were dead."
Thea paused and looked at Oliver and Amelia, both of them looking lost for words at what she had just told them. Sighing, Thea started again. "Look, I know it was hell where you were. But it was hell here too. You gotta let me in, Ollie. You both have to let someone in."
Oliver stared mournfully at the headstones, not knowing what to say at the moment. Thea was right and they both knew it, they just weren't sure how to fix it. Thea just started to walk away when Amelia got an idea. She reached over and gave Oliver's hand a light squeeze before turned and sprinting to catch up to Thea.
"Thea, wait!" Amelia called as they were entering the house. "You're right."
"I know." Thea stated, coursing her arms over her chest with a smug smile.
"How about I make up being a bitch to you with a little shopping?" Amelia suggested with a smirk. "My father just happened to give me a credit card today and I am in desperate need of a new wardrobe."
Thea laughed and linked an arm with Amelia, leading them to the front door. "Well, why didn't you say so?"
—
Thea had taken Amelia to all the shops that she used to frequent and they all welcomed her back with open arms. Each one wanted to be the store that styled the girl who had come back from the dead. Amelia was happy to be shopping with Thea again, just like they used to before the island. However, Amelia had to admit that going from department store to department store was quite exhausting, but they were even more luxurious than she remember. The salespeople served them champagne as they shopped, not caring that Thea was underage, for she was a Queen and Amelia was a Kingston and those names came with perks.
Amelia felt out of place in the stores she once called home. The salespeople catered to their every whim and Amelia didn't think she'd ever get used to that again. Thea took full advantage of this, telling them to grab this or that without even batting an eye at them. It all seemed a bit trivial to Amelia now, but she had to admit, she missed having nice clean clothes after the island. Plus, being a Kingston, she has to keep up appearances and make sure she looked like she still knew how to dress herself.
"How long does it take someone to try on a dress?" Thea giggled, buzzed on champagne, outside of Amelia's dressing room. "Come on, hot stuff, get out here!"
"I'm not really sure this one is completely...me." Amelia twirled around in the full length mirror, still not comfortable in her own skin.
Amelia couldn't understand how Thea actually called this a dress for it barely covered anything. Amelia's scars were completely visible as the dress had no back and was strapless. Before the island, she would've loved something that hugged her curves the way it did, but now, she knew if she wore this out that there would be too many questions with answers that no one would like.
"Get out here!" Thea laughed, "Or I'm coming in there. You need something hot to wear when you start dating again. Or wait, no, technically you're still engaged to my brother, right?" Thea's confused voice came from behind the curtain, and Amelia honestly didn't know what to say as she was still confused on that matter as well.
"Keep looking for something else. I don't like this one." Amelia called back, getting ready to take the dress off.
"Well, let me at least see it!" Thea said, as she opened the curtain to the dressing room.
Amelia spun around, trying to hide her scars from Thea but she knew it was too late. Amelia could see Thea's wide eyes fixated on her scars in the mirror behind her. Amelia sighed and began to fidget with the hem of the dress. Whatever buzz Thea had certainly disappeared upon seeing the scars on Amelia's body that represented her time on the island.
"Amelia..." Thea began, her eyes beginning to water, "Mom never said that you had scars like Ollie. I didn't...what did happen to you on that island?"
"We had to survive." Amelia replied solemnly.
"You know, I meant what I said about you and Ollie needing someone to talk to about what you went through. You need to let someone in, Amelia." Thea reminded, her tone now firm as she stared Amelia down.
"I know, Thea, and I will. I'm just not ready to talk about it yet." Amelia told her, before smiling slightly. "Come on. We still have a lot of shopping to do."
Thea smiled, nodding enthusiastically as she turned and left the dressing room to find another dress. Amelia smiled slightly to herself, happy that she and Thea would be able to finish their shopping with any tension between them.
—
Amelia had just put away all of her new clothes, shocked at how many she actually bought. Though, most of it was Thea pushing her to buy everything, insisting that after five years without clothes, she deserved to treat herself. Smiling slightly, she closed the closet door and wondered if Oliver was back yet. She checked his room when she got back, only to find that he wasn't here and she assumed he went to see Laurel. Opening her door, she went downstairs only to see Oliver tossing Dig a back of ice for his hurt hand.
"Here!" Oliver called to Dig.
"What happened?" Amelia asked, giving Oliver a pointed look.
"I was at Laurel's when someone attacked us." Oliver explained, causing Amelia to groan.
"Is everyone okay?" Amelia asked, conceded for Laurel but also knowing this had to be Somers' doing.
"Yeah, everyone's fine." Oliver nodded, now turning to Dig. "I'd say thank you, but I don't think that would cover it."
"Well, like I told your cop friend, I was just doing my job. Besides, I think it should be you that I'm thanking." Dig said, surprising Amelia.
Oliver looked confused. "What for?"
"The knife." Dig reminded him.
"The knife." Oliver realized what Dig had meant. "I got lucky."
"That was a kitchen knife." Dig's said, clearly not buying Oliver's excuse of being lucky. "It wasn't even weighted properly, yet you threw it with accuracy across a 10-foot room."
"Exactly. I got lucky." Oliver repeated, holding Dig's gaze.
"I'm not the kind of man you want to take for a fool, Mr. Queen, you understand me?" Dig asked, almost challenging Oliver.
"Yes." Oliver replied shortly,
"And I think I'm just beginning to understand the kind of man you are." Dig then looked at Amelia. "Maybe I'm starting to understand you as well.
"Well, that shouldn't take you very long. We're shallow." Amelia deadpanned, glancing over at Oliver.
"And very tired, so...Good night." Oliver turned and grabbed Amelia's hand, leading her back to his room.
"Good night, sir." Dig called, turning to leave as well.
Once they were out of earshot, Amelia looked up at Oliver, who looked angrier than she'd seen him since they returned home. She knew that they were going after Somers now, especially since he went after Laurel.
"What happened, Oliver?" Amelia asked once they were safely in his room.
"Someone came after Laurel. If I wasn't there, she would've been killed." Oliver replied, anger clear in his voice. "This wasn't how I wanted things to go. I wanted to give Martin Somers the chance to confess and face a court's justice, but he chose to go after someone I care about instead."
"He's still going to face justice." Amelia reminded, her time turning dark. "It'll just be a different kind."
Oliver nodded. "Everyone wants to know what kind of man I am. Martin Somers is about to find out."
—
Amelia and Oliver made it to the docks in record time, wanting nothing more than to show Somers who he was messing with. Amelia quietly took out one of the guards, picking up his walkie talkie and casually handing it to Oliver as Somers' voice was yelling through the small speaker.
"Wallace?" Somers demanded. "Wallace, you copy? Wallace?"
"Wallace isn't here." Oliver replied darkly into the speaker. "But I am."
Even though the place was heavily guarded, the two knew they would have no problem taking the men on. Carefully dodging bullets, Amelia and Oliver quickly took out guard after guard descending the metal catwalk over the shipping yard. Oliver spotted Somers fleeing below, his expensive tie flapping in the wind as he ran.
"Somers!" Oliver called out, letting him know he was hot on his tail. Amelia ran after Oliver as he chased Somers into a nearby silo.
Oliver shot an arrow at Somers, pinning him against a wall by his suit, right above his right shoulder. "Oh, God, no, no, no."
"He can't help you. I want the truth about Victor Nocenti." Oliver demanded, shooting another arrow off. It landed on the other side of Somers head, startling the man even further.
"I- I- I can't. The Triad will kill me." Somers stuttered out, trying to plead with Oliver.
"The Triad's not your concern right now." Oliver bellowed, growing more impatient and angrier with Somers by the second. Amelia threw a dagger at Somers, the blade landing right between his legs below his groin.
"All right, all right, all right!" Somers yelled, "It wasn't me that killed him. It was the Triad."
"Acting on whose instructions?" Oliver questioned. When Somers refused to answer, Amelia threw another dagger above his head.
"Whose?" She demanded.
"All right, all right. It was mine. It was mine, all right? Nocenti said he was gonna testify against me." Somers confessed.
Oliver was about to say something else when Amelia heard something from behind them. Turning around, blade in hand ready to attack, she came face to face with China White. Before Amelia had time to blink, the white haired woman kicked her in the stomach with such force, Amelia went flying back into a the large metal coil in the middle of the silo and then onto the hard stone floor. Her vision went dark for a moment, and all she could hear was Oliver and China White saying something in Chinese before they started fighting. Amelia wanted to get up and help Oliver but her vision was still blurry and she was having a hard time breathing from the blow she had taken.
Amelia could faintly hear police sirens in the distance and she knew they needed to go. Trying to push through the pain she was feeling, Amelia shakily stood up as her vision started to clear, seeing Chine White run off towards an exit behind her. Oliver quickly ran to her side, worry all over his face.
"Are you okay?" He asked, his eye locking onto hers.
"We need to go." Amelia replied, ignoring his question as she was unsure how to answer.
"This is the police!" A policeman's voice through a megaphone echoed in the silo. "Put down your weapons, you are surrounded. Come out with your hands up."
Oliver grabbed Amelia's arm, throwing it over his shoulder to help her and the two fled the silo through an opening to their right. Oliver threw his bow on top of a nearby shopping container, climbing up the side and then reaching down to help Amelia up. Amelia looked at the entrance of the docks, seeing multiple police cruisers and cops flooding the docks.
Oliver jumped down off the cargo container effortlessly, pausing briefly for Amelia, making sure she didn't hurt herself even more. They were about to make their exit when the sound of a gun cocking caused them both to stop dead in their track.
"Freeze! You twitch and you're dead." The all too familiar voice of Detective Lance barked out.
Amelia glanced at Oliver, nodding her head slightly at him.
"Bow down, hands up." Lance ordered, never taking his gun off of them.
Amelia turned on her heel slightly, letting a dagger fly through the air, as Oliver did the same thing with an arrow of his own. Amelia's dagger knocked Lance's gun out of his hand while Oliver's arrow pinned his gun to the shipping container they had just leapt off of. Lance turned towards the container, clearly distracted, giving Amelia and Oliver the opportunity to slip away.
—
Once back at the lair, Amelia collapsed into a chair, exhausted and in pain from getting kicked like a rag doll by China White. Oliver had helped Amelia most of the way back, worried about what injuries she might have sustained from the blow she had taken. Oliver knelt down in front of Amelia, gently pushing her hood back to reveal a small gash on her hairline, trailing blood down her forehead.
"Hold still." Oliver instructed, moving to grab the medical supplies they had here just for this type of thing.
"Yes, sir." Amelia replied, causing Oliver to shake his head at her as he grabbed a cloth to clean up her head.
Oliver carefully pushed Amelia's hair out of the way, cleaning up the blood on her head. As the cloth touched the gash, Amelia winced slightly, causing Oliver to look at her apologetically. Moving the cloth away, Oliver examined the gash and was relieved to see that it was deep enough for stitches. Reaching for a small bandage, Oliver applied it to Amelia's head, making sure the wound wouldn't reopen.
"All done." Oliver announced, going to put away the supplies he had gotten out.
"Thank you." Amelia replied with a small smile.
Going to stand up, Amelia winced slightly, pain radiating through her ribs, a pain that had she had failed to notice while the adrenaline was pumping through her body just moments ago. Now that she had sat down, she had calmed down, every breath she took caused her pain. This did not go unnoticed by Oliver.
"What's wrong?" Oliver asked, concern written all over his face.
"Nothing." Amelia waved off, going to change.
Oliver knew Amelia well enough to know when she was lying and followed her, leaning against a nearby pole as she unzipped her dark blue leather top revealing her sports bra and a very large dark bruise across her ribs.
"That's not nothing." Oliver pointed out, moving closer to Amelia.
Amelia sighed as she turned towards Oliver, who was now standing only inches away from her, staring at the bruise with furrowed brows. Reaching out carefully, Oliver ran his fingers along Amelia's side, checking to see if any of her ribs were broken. Amelia shuddered slightly under Oliver's touch, his hands being cold from the wet cloth he was using.
"Thankfully," Oliver began, leading Amelia back to the medical supplies to wrap her ribs just as a precaution, "I don't think any of your ribs are broken."
"Good." Amelia breathed out in relief. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you with China White."
Oliver's eyes shot up to Amelia's. "Why are you sorry, Ellie? I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should've been more aware of our surroundings. Maybe I would've heard her coming sooner and been able to protect you."
"Ollie," Amelia sighed, "it's not your fault. I just wish I could've helped you kick her ass."
Oliver chuckled slightly at Amelia's comment as he finished wrapping her ribs. "There you go. I would say take it easy, but I know you won't."
Amelia smirked, shaking her head. "Of course not. I'm the one who has to make sure you don't get killed out there."
Oliver shook his head again, helping her to her feet. "Come on. Let's go home."
—
Amelia sat in the car with Oliver, looking out the window at the place where the new Applied Sciences Center was, seeing the crowd of people that were already gathered there. After last night, she knew that this was not going to go well for Oliver, but that was the point.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Amelia asked, glancing back over at him.
"Laurel was right. I can't be the Oliver my mother wants me to be and still keep the promise I made to my father. I have to be the person I need them to see me as." He explained, and Amelia knew he had made up his mind.
"Okay, then let's get this over with." Amelia opened the door, and starting walking towards the crowd of people with Oliver closely behind her.
Amelia could hear the beginning of Walter's speech coming through the speakers as she got closer, and she could also see Tommy and Laurel standing together not too far away. Making sure she stayed out of sight, Amelia stayed at the back of the crowd watching as Oliver started to make his way through the people.
"Good afternoon." Walter began. "And thank you all for coming. Welcome to the future site of the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences Center. Now, this is a building that will stand as a monument to the man whose company and vision are his greatest legacies."
"Whoa! Whoa!" Oliver called, making himself sound drunk as he approached the stage. "What about me? Right? I'm a legacy. Hey! Thanks for warming them up, Walt."
"He must be drunk." Amelia heard some woman whisper to her friend while pointing at Oliver.
"Some of you may not know me. My name is Oliver Queen." Oliver paused as if watching for some sort of reaction that never came. "Watch some television, read a newspaper, I'm kind of famous right now. Mostly, though, I'm famous because I'm Robert Queen's son. Uh, but as Walter, who's my new dad... Huh? Who is... Sorry. As Walter was saying, I'm not much of a legacy, per se."
"Oliver, you don't have to do this." Walter tried to stand up and interject Oliver's speech but was unsuccessful.
"No, sit. Sit! Gosh." Oliver pushed Walter away slightly, turning away from him and to the crowd again. "See, I was supposed to come here today, and I'm supposed to take my rightful place at the company. Prodigal son returns home and becomes the heir apparent. But I'm not my father. I'm not the man he was. I'm not half the man he was. I never will be. So, please, stop asking me to be."
Oliver walked off stage, the last of his speech coming out as more of a request than anything, and made his way through the crowd again. Amelia turned and caught up with him, grabbing his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze as they made their way back to the car.
Amelia knew that had to be hard for Oliver but she also understood that they had certain roles they needed to play while they were in public. If everything was going to go as they planned, they needed to act like the same spoiled kids they were when they left Starling City.
—
Amelia and Oliver made their way through the backyard of the Queen Mansion, nodding to the two workers who were waiting patiently for them. Oliver had thought it was a good idea to remove their headstones since they were alive, and Amelia agreed, but she knew he also wished they were able to remove Robert's as well.
Oliver walked towards his father's empty grave, crouching down in front of it while Amelia stood behind him, listening as Oliver spoke.
"All that time on the island, plotting my return, I didn't realize how hard it would be." Oliver confessed. "To reconnect with Mom, Thea, Laurel. Okay, I didn't...I didn't know how painful it would be to keep my secrets."
Oliver paused, taking a breath to steady his voice. "You asked me, us, to save the city. To right your wrongs. We will. I swear. But to do that, I can't be the Oliver that everyone wants me to be, which means that sometimes... To honor your wishes... I need to dishonor your memory. I'm sorry."
Amelia reached out and squeezed Oliver's shoulder, trying to make him feel better in any way she could. Oliver nodded slightly before walking away from the grave. Amelia took a step towards the dark stone, tears starting to form in her eyes and she remembered the man she thought of as a father.
"Take them down." She heard Oliver say to the two men.
"Don't worry." Amelia whispered to Robert's grave, too low for the men to hear. "I'll take care of him just as I promised."