Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners.

AN1: THANK YOU SO MUCH TO Mocking_point who has helped me more than I can put into words.

AN2: Thank you for the support. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.


It has been a week since Oliver's welcome home party and even though Thea has spent some time with her brother Laurel has been avoiding the older Queen as much as she can.

It is about four thirty am and Laurel is still in the Glades dressed as The Woman in Black. Having been up, fighting for hours, Laurel is fighting three drug dealers she has been tracking for days.

As she ducks using one of her batons to hit one of the drug in the stomach Laurel quickly pulls her second to hit another around the knees and as she turns back to the third Laurel feels something painful graze her upper arm.

"Looks you like you're not as invisible as you think." The drug dealer who is holding a gun says. Hearing that Laurel just smirks back before she throws her baton, using it to knock the gun out of the person's hand, before she uses her person she hit in the stomach to kick off of so that she can land a punch, to the face, of the person who had the gun. Once he is down Laurel picks her baton back up and as she does the other two start to run so Laurel just throws her batons at them, knocking them both out when the batons hit their heads. Once they are all knocked out Laurel pulls a file out of her jacket and puts it next to the guy who held the gun, putting the gun on top to stop it from flying away, before she heads out of the alley.


Half an hour later, having wanted to be careful that she wasn't followed Laurel has arrived back home and is sitting on her bed, only wearing her pyjama pants and a tank top. Knowing what she has to do Laurel moves the cloth she is holding off her arm and picks up a needle and starts to stich up her arm, something that is rather difficult to do with one hand, but Laurel makes it work.

Once she has fixed her arm Laurel moves anything sharp of her arm, but leaves the rest, and the second she puts her head against her pillow Laurel is fast asleep.


A couple of hours later, across town form where Laurel stitched up her arm, Oliver is in his bedroom at the mansion trying to find anything and everything he can about the Woman in Black.

"Who are you?" Oliver asks as he reads a report about three drug dealers getting taken down by the woman who left enough evidence to put them away for a while, "Why you doing this?" he asks curious as for a week he has been trying to figure out who the woman is, or at least a way for him to be at the same place as her, and so far he has come up with no answer.

"Wow, you really are in your own world." A voice says and Oliver looks up to see Tommy.

"Tommy, what are you doing here?" Oliver asks confused.

"The better question is why aren't you dressed? Courts don't take kindly to people showing up in your pyjamas, or have you forgotten?" Tommy asks as he walks over.

"Court?" Oliver asks confused.

"Yeah, you're being brought back from the dead today, remember?" Tommy asks.

"Right, that's today." Oliver realises.

"What's got you so interested?" Tommy asks as he walks over and has a look at Oliver's computer screen, "Ah I see, going to give a reward for finding her to?"

"No, I don't think so." Oliver responds, "I'll be downstairs in a few minutes."

"Good, because your really don't want to be late." Tommy says before leaving.

Once Tommy has left Oliver saves all the information about the Woman in Black that he has been collecting before heading to get changed.


At Laurel and Thea's place Thea is just finishing getting breakfast ready when Laurel walks into the room.

"Did you get any sleep?" Thea asks Laurel, "Because no offense but you look like a panda with those bags."

"Thanks Speedy." Laurel says sarcastically.

"I said no offense." Thea defends, "So, how much sleep did you get?" She asks curious.

"Not as much as I should have, and I have to be in court in an hour." Laurel explains.

"Wow, I wish you luck for that." Thea tells Laurel.

"Thanks, I need coffee and concealer." Laurel comments.

"Well there is coffee in the pot, and food should be warm for a while. I got to get to school." Thea comments, "Good luck with court while sleep deprived." Thea says before giving Laurel a quick hug before she goes.

"Thanks, I'm going to need it." Laurel comments as she heads over to the coffee pot so that she can drink as much coffee as possible before she leaves.


A couple of hours later Oliver has been declared alive and after informing Walter that he doesn't want to go to Queen Consolidated today Oliver and Tommy are leaving the courthouse when Oliver almost walks straight into Laurel, and the second he sees her, even though Laurel is doing her best to hide it, he can tell that she is exhausted for some reason.

"Hi." Oliver says when he sees Laurel.

"What are you doing here?" Laurel asks completely confused, and as she does Oliver notices the bandage, that she sit trying to hide, on Laurel's upper arm.

"Oh, they were bringing me back from the dead. Legally speaking." Oliver explains, "What are you doing here?"

"My job." Laurel answers, like it is the most obvious things.

"Right."

"More like the DA's." Jo corrects.

"Hi." Oliver says to the woman who is with Laurel and Jo.

"Oliver Queen. Emily Nocenti. Oliver just got back from five years on an uncharted island. Before that, he was cheating on me with my sister. He was with her when she died. And last week, he told me to stay away from him. it was really good advice... Excuse me." Laurel says before walking away, it being clear to Oliver that he has hurt Laurel more than he thought.

"It was nice to meet you." Oliver says to Emily as she walks away.

"Yeah. Let's go." Jo says.

"Come on, buddy, shake it off." Tommy says as he places his hands on Oliver's shoulders.

"She's hurt again." Oliver comments.

"What?" Tommy asks confused.

"Laurel." Oliver says, "Last week she was limping and now she has a bandage on her arm, and did you see how tired she looks?" he asks, worry in his voice.

"Laurel always looks tried, she stays up late working." Tommy explains to Oliver.

"Okay, but how to you explain the injuries?" Oliver asks, "Two injuries in that many weeks can't be normal." He says, worrying that Laurel is getting hurt somehow or by someone.

"Laurel is a boxer, she probably got hurt training." Tommy comments as that's what answer he has gotten when he has asked.

"Maybe." Oliver mutters, not being able to help but think it is more than that.


The next morning, after having spent several hours looking up information on the Woman in Black, Oliver is heading out of the house so that he can go to the company for the first time, and as he leaves he sees someone who he is very surprised to see.

"Speedy." Oliver says surprised.

"Hey, Ollie." Thea says as she walks over.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have school?" Oliver asks, surprised to see her.

"I have a free period, and usually I intern at CNRI during my morning and afternoon frees, but considering her recent case has gotten Laurel stuck with a police protection detail she didn't want me anywhere near CNRI." Thea explains, leaving out the fact that Laurel was able to ditch the protection detail, without anyone realising, the night before to go out as The Woman in Black.

"Is Laurel okay?" Oliver asks worried.

"Yeah, she's fine, more worried about me than herself even though she's the one in danger." Thea admits, telling the complete truth as ever since Lance assigned the protection detail Laurel has been doing everything she can to protect Thea.

"Do you want to come in inside?" Oliver asks curious.

'No, I still can't walk inside that place." Thea admits, "But, um, do you have a minute?" Thea asks curious, "There is something I want to show you around back."

"Sure." Oliver responds and he and Thea head out to the back of the house.

A couple of minutes later Thea and Oliver arrive out the back where there are two graves, one belonging to Oliver one belonging to Robert.

"Sometimes, when I felt whatever I'd come here." Thea explains to Oliver, "About a month after the funerals….. mom stopped going out. Pretty soon, she stopped talking altogether, she only started talking again a few months before she…. You know." Thea says, remembering what it took to get Moira to talk again, "The house got so quiet, so I'd come here. To talk to you." Thea says as she points to the grave, "It was 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. That happened a lot after Mom." Thea reveals as even though she loves Laurel she missed her brother too, "Now, here you are. And the truth is, I felt closer to you when you were dead." Thea says, stressing the last word, "Look, I know it was hell where you were. But there were times where it was hell here too. You gotta let me in, Ollie. You gotta let someone in." Thea tells him, "I got to get to school." Thea says before leaving, leaving Oliver to stare at the graves and ponder his sister's words.


Hours later Laurel is sitting alone in the apartment, having talked to Thea and encouraged her to spend time at Ted's, Laurel is in the living room working on her latest case a case, that to her annoyance, has gotten her a protection detail, one that in all honestly Laurel think she doesn't need.

As she works and finishes her dinner Laurel hears a knock on the door and because she knows that people who will be coming after her, either because of the fact that she is the Woman in Black, or for just being Laurel Lance, won't knock Laurel just opens the door without even looking through the peep hole, but as she finds Oliver standing on the other side Laurel very much wishes that she did check first.

"Hi." Oliver says when he sees Laurel.

"If you're looking for Thea she's not here." Laurel informs him.

"I'm not. I'm here to see you." Oliver reveals.

"Really? How exactly am I supposed to stay away from you if you won't stay away from me?" Laurel asks, anger in her voice, "What are you doing here, Ollie?" Laurel asks.

"Thea, she pointed out to me that I have been distant since I got back and that It would probably be a good idea if I let somebody in." Oliver explains to Laurel.

"So, you thought you'd start with the first person you pushed away?" Laurel asks.

"I did that to protect you." Oliver says and honestly there is a part of Laurel that understands that as she will do whatever it takes to protect Thea, or her father, or Sin or Roy, but at the same time she doesn't think she could intentional hurt her, "And then I saw you yesterday, and I realized that I hurt you." Oliver explains and as he does Laurel steps aside and lets Oliver into the apartment.

"You know I noticed last week, apart from the bed in your office, this place hasn't' changed in five years." Oliver comments.

"I haven't really had time to redecorate." Laurel says, knowing that is an understatement.

"I'm a jerk." Oliver says, "Before the island, I was a jerk, and now I'm just a I'm a damaged jerk."

"What's in the bag?" Laurel asks as honestly she can't deny any of what Oliver is saying.

"I thought about many things on the island, but there was one thing that I thought about every day. I actually dreamed about it, and I promised myself that if I ever got a chance to do it again, I'd do it with you." Oliver says and honesty Laurel really hopes that this isn't going where she thinks he is going, "Eat ice cream." Oliver says as he pulls a tub out of the bag he is holding.

"I'll get a bowl and spoons." Laurel says before heading into the kitchen. As Laurel goes to the kitchen Oliver allows himself to actually look around as when he was at Laurel's the week before he didn't really feel like he had any right to look around, so he didn't but now he does. As he looks Oliver looks at a photo that he can't help but smile at, it's a photo of Laurel and Thea, clearly one of them is holding on the camera, they both look so happy with one arm around one another, and Laurel is in a cap and gown.

"That was my Law School graduation." Laurel's voice says and as she does Oliver realises that she walks very quietly, something he doesn't think she used to do, "Afterward Thea planed like a weeklong celebration for us."

"That sounds nice." Oliver comments.

"It was." Laurel confirms.

"How is Thea doing? Really? After everything?" Oliver asks wondering if he can get Laurel to explain what was really going on when he paid his visit.

"She's okay, or as okay as she can be." Laurel admits, "Becoming friends with Roy and Sin have helped her a lot, the three of them are close, they keep each other out of trouble. Except of course when they purposely get into trouble because they think it's the right thing to do."

"What do you mean?" Oliver asks curious.

"A couple of years ago a friend of theirs overdosed, after their first time trying something, so Thea, Roy and Sin talked their way into Tommy's birthday to buy of the dealer so that they could hand the details over to my dad and get him arrested." Laurel explains, unknowingly giving Oliver the exact answer he's been wondering about, "I was so, furious, with them." Laurel admits.

"I don't blame you there." Oliver comments, being glad to finally have the full explanation.

"How about we get started on that ice cream?" Laurel asks.

"I'd like that." Oliver answers, and both he and Laurel head over to the couch and sit down, Laurel on the couch while Oliver sits on the floor.

For the next few minutes Oliver and Laurel sit in silence as they both eat ice cream.

"This is as good as I remember." Oliver informs Laurel after about ten minutes of eating in silence, "The Queen Consolidated board wants me to join the company." Oliver reveals and honestly Laurel isn't surprised by that, as they have wanted Thea to take more of a role for years, but Thea keeps saying no and Laurel respects Thea's choice and has fought on her behalf to make sure her wishes are respected, "Yeah. Take my rightful place."

"I can't exactly picture you as master of the universe." Laurel says with an amused look on her face.

"You know, after five years, I have plans. I have things that I have to do. I can't do that if I'm I don't know attending board meetings and stockholder briefings." Oliver comments, trying to explain what is going on with him to Laurel without explaining what he is going to be doing.

"Oliver?"

"Hmm?"

"You're an adult. You can say no." Laurel informs him.

"Oh, I tried. Didn't take." Oliver explains.

"Well, then don't tell them. Show them. Be the person you want the board to see you as." Laurel tells Oliver, "Trust me I have plenty of experience with disapproving figures of authority, but in my case it's my parents." Laurel explains.

"I have been on the receiving end of your father's disapproval." Oliver comments.

"He blames himself more than he blames you." Laurel reveals, "He thinks that, you know, maybe if he and Sara were closer, she would have told him about the boat trip. And he could have stopped her from going with you. "

"I am sorry." Oliver says one more, knowing that he will never be able to apologise enough.

"You apologized already."

"And it'll never be enough." Oliver comments and as he does both Laurel and Oliver turn towards the fire escape as they hear something.

"Did you hear that?" Laurel and Oliver ask each other at the same time.

"There's someone on the fire escape; and that's not how Roy, Sin and Thea sound." Laurel reveals and Oliver make a note to ask Laurel how she knows that later.

"We've got to move." Oliver says as he takes Laurels hand and pulls her towards the front, as they get there the front door is broken in so Oliver pulls Laurel towards the bedroom, just as someone breaks in and as they do Laurel let go of Oliver's hand so she can punch the man and then kick him as hard as she can in the stomach and once she does Laurel runs out of the room just in time to see Oliver throw a knife at a person Laurel knows to be the head of the Triad who is attacking Oliver's bodyguard Diggle.

Once Oliver does that the woman runs and Laurel runs over to Oliver and hugs him, not out of fear but out of a need to assure herself that he is okay as, unknown to her, Oliver does the same thing for the exact same reason.

"Are you hurt?" Diggle asks.

"No."

"Are you hurt, Mr. Queen?"

"No."

"This is why it's a good idea to have a bodyguard." Diggle says.

"How you know it wasn't Thea and her friends?" Oliver asks Laurel asks curious.

"I always leave that window open. I've learnt what to be worried about and not what to be." Laurel explains.

"Good skill to have." Oliver responds and the two of them drift into silence as Oliver just holds Laurel, planning on going after Somers as soon as he can.

Thanks to the call Diggle put in about ten minutes after Oliver threw the knife at the triad member Lance runs into the apartment, Laurel having placed a call to Thea to tell her to stay where she is during that time.

"Daddy." Laurel says as she hurries over to her father and hug him.

"Oh, thank God. Thank God. Are you all right?" Lance asks as he hugs his daughter.

"I'm okay." Laurel assures her father as they break apart, "Those cops that you put on me…" Laurel starts to ask.

"I went outside to ask for a light and they were both dead in the squad car." Diggle says and as he does Lance walks over to him.

"Mr. Diggle, thank you. Feel free to run as many red lights in the city as you want." Lance says as he shakes Diggle's hand.

"I was just doing my job, sir." Diggle says.

"No, your job is protecting him." Lance says, looking over at Oliver, "It seems like whenever you're with one of my daughters, people die. You stay away from Laurel, or I swear the next time you disappear, it will be permanent." Lance says angrily.

"Dad!"

"No, Laurel It's okay. I understand." Oliver says, "We should go." He says to Diggle and the two of them leave.

"That was uncalled for." Laurel says as she heads to her room, as soon as Oliver leaves.

"No this was." Lance says angrily as he follows his daughter, "You're gonna go back into that courtroom tomorrow and you're gonna recuse yourself from this case, all right? Or drop it. Either way, you're done." Lance says angrily as Laurel walks across the room to pick up her bag which has her Woman in Black gear inside though it looks like a gym bag.

"If you think I'm gonna abandon Emily Nocenti, then you don't know me all that well." Laurel says as she pushes past her father.

"You don't know me well, young lady. I will lock you in a cell if that's what it takes." Lance says, completely meaning that.

"Well, I guess that's what it's gonna take then." Laurel says as she walks to the front door.

"Damn it, Laurel! I thought after what happened with Sara, you'd stop being just so reckless." Lance says, saying one of the main reasons why Laurel doesn't tell her father that she's the Woman in Black.

"It's not about being reckless! It's just the opposite. I'm trying to make this city safer, just like you." Laurel informs her father, as she turns around and faces her father, speaking about both her day and night job.

"Sweetie. You're my only daughter, Laurel. You're all I have left to live for." Lance tells Laurel as he puts his hands on her shoulders.

"But what you want from me isn't living. Having cops around, not being able to do my job." Laurel tells her father.

'Your job is not going after people like the triad or Somers." Lance says, his vice full of anger.

"My job is to use the law to fight for what is right. Just like you taught me." Laurel tells her father, figuring that if she uses his words against him that maybe, just maybe she'll get through to him.

"Well, that's dirty. Using me against me. You can't do that." Lance says.

"Well Maybe I picked that up along the way, too." Laurel says, "I got to go."

"Go? Where are you going?" Lance asks confused.

"Thea is at Ted's. He's offered his back room for the night, we'll be safe there." Laurel explains, leaving out the fact that Thea will be safe there while she has other plans, she is also out the fact that Ted's probably going to insist that they stay at his apartment.

"And you're going to get some boxing in?" Lance asks, honestly he is glad that Laurel is going to Ted's as he knows Ted, knows that he is probably his daughter's best friend and won't let anyone hurt her.

"Seems as good of a time as any." Laurel explains to her father, "I better go, Thea's terrified."

"I'll drive you." Lance says.

"I'll be okay; no one can catch me on my bike." Laurel comments.

"No….." Lance starts to say but before he can both he and Laure hear,

"Detective, there is something you need to look at."

"See you're needed here. I'll be okay." Laurel assures her father before leaving, not letting him object further.


Thanks to her driving, and the fact that she has learnt some pretty great shortcuts Laurel gets to Ted's relatively quickly considering and once she is there Laurel uses her key to let herself in, locking the door behind her and she heads out to the back where she finds Ted standing in front of Thea, as if to protect her.

"Laurel." Thea says, pushing out from behind Ted and running over to Laurel to pull her into her arms.

"I'm okay." Laurel assures her, "And so's Ollie."

"Good." Thea says, sounding glad.

"I need another favour." Laurel says, looking at Ted.

"Anything, D." He tells her.

"Can Thea stay with you for a while longer?" She asks him.

"Of course." Ted answers, "You're going after Somers, aren't you?" knowing that as he can see the look on Laurel's face and after knowing her so long he knows what that means.

"I have to." Laurel tells Ted, "If it was just me there tonight I would have let it go, but Ollie could have been killed tonight, and what if it wasn't Ollie with me? What if it was Thea, or Roy, or Sin? I have to stop him before he can hurt anyone else." Laurel tells Ted.

"I know." Ted responds, "Just be careful, Laurel." Ted says, it being clear how concerned he is as ninety percent of the time he calls her D, not Laurel. "Focus on the job, don't let anger, or your need for revenge take over, stay in control." Ted says, stressing the last three words.

"I will." Laurel says.

"Don't die out there." Thea says before hugging Laurel.

"I'll take Thea to my apartment, come by when you're done." Ted tells Laurel, "Minus the mask." He adds as Laurel and Thea break apart.

"I will." Laurel assures him before she heads to the change rooms while Ted leads Thea out the back, it being clear to him that the teenager is terrified for his guardian.


Not long after she spoke to Ted and Thea Laurel arrives at the docks where she knows Somers conducts his business. As she starts to make her way to the specific place he operates out of Laurel sees that she isn't the only one who decided to pay Somers a visit as The Hood is there and realising her opening Laurel jumps down onto a platform and uses her baton to knock one of Somers men out seconds before he can fire at the Hood.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver, as the hood asks Laurel after turning on his voice changer.

"Same thing as you." Laurel says as Oliver firers an Arrow at someone above them both and seconds later Laurel once more jumps down a platform to take on another one of Somers men.

As Laurel or the Woman in Black as Oliver knows her to be, jumps down a platform Oliver sees Somers running and as he does Oliver realises that Somers is who he is here for, not his men, so he might as well leave the woman to deal with the men while he takes the big guy.


Her annoyance with the Hood growing with every second Laurel finish taking down the last of Somers men by double taping the man with her batons, one in the stomach and one to the head. As she doesn't even want to be thinking about what The Hood is doing to Somers right now Laurel starts to run the second she takes down the last man, jumping from platform to storage container to the ground and she runs into the building just in time to see The Hood starting to fight a woman who Laurel knows to be the same person that attacked her and Oliver at the apartment.

Not even thinking about the consequences Laurel runs forward and joins in on the fight. Charging at the white haired woman, Laurel slides on her knees getting below where the woman and The Hood are fighting managing to knock the woman's legs from under her, yelling "Hey." as she goes as a distraction. Tucking her head Laurel rolls onto her face before twisting to face the woman just as she snaps up. Preparing for what she assumes is going to be a difficult fight Laurel twists her batons around so that they are parallel with her forearms as the other woman spins her knifes so that they are facing the outside of her hands, Laurel knowing that with a knife fighter she needs a quick blocking technique. As the woman distracts her by swinging at her head, a swing that Laurel knows she knows she has to block, she also kicks Laurel's ribs and because she was protecting her head the kick landed and Laurel is pretty sure she's going to be sore, again, and causing her to stumble back.

Taking advantage of Laurel's stumble, the woman tries to stab Laurel but before she can the Hood shoots the knife from her hands.

"That's enough." Oliver as The Hood says, though Laurel doesn't realise who he is thanks to the voice distorter.

"Who the hell is this?" Laurel asks, being thankful for her own voice modifier, asking the question not because she doesn't know but because she wants to know what The Hood will say.

"Her name is China White." Oliver says as she steps backwards just a little.

"That's not my name." White says as she charges at Oliver, as she does he lets the arrow go and seeing that it is aiming straight for White's throat Laurel kicks her out of the way as she won't let the Hood add another body to his count. Laurel's attempt to save White allows her to knock Laurel's legs out from under her while using the leg that kicked to spin her. As Laurel is knocked to the ground The Hood comes up to her again and backhands White across the face as seconds later Laurel rolled to her feet.

Thanks to Oliver's hit White's body spins and as she faces Laurel who punches her, spinning her back around. As White is as better distance Oliver pulls an arrow to fire but before he can they all hear a sound that makes them freeze for the briefest seconds, sirens.

Seconds after they hear the sirens Laurel, China White and Oliver run in different directions all three of them knowing that they can't get caught by the police, but as Laurel runs she knows, thanks to what she has been doing in recent months, the perfect place to go to so that she can see the way The Hood goes and then she can block his way and the two of them can have an actual conversation.