Two weeks after the choking incident, Dr. Yamashiro decided it was time to let me get back to doing surgery.

"Seriously?" I asked in disbelief.

She nodded. "Small procedures only. Appendectomies, shunts, et cetera. I still don't think you're ready to handle big traumas." Then she broke into a rare smile. "But you've been making a lot of progress, and I think it's time to let you back into the game and start you out slow."

"Making a lot of progress" to Dr. Yamashiro was actually code for six sessions in two weeks dedicated to nothing but reliving every single nightmare of the past five years. Those six hours were complete torture, but even I'd grudgingly admit it helped lessen their frequency.

I also attributed the fewer nightmares thing to Oliver. Dr. Yamashiro may have been the professional, but there was something so incredibly therapeutic about telling him everything. I trusted him because I felt safe whenever I was with him.

It was the first time in a long time that I could have said that about anyone.

But the fact that I was cleared for small procedures was still a victory in any sense, so when I was finished with my session, I strutted out of her office proudly, like a freshly graduated med school student.

Roy saw my approach and watched me warily. "What's with that face?"

"Get out your blue marker, Speedy, cuz I'm back in the game!" I crowed. "Yamashiro cleared me for small procedures finally, and thank God too, because I have gone way too long without digging through somebody's intestines."

He made a face. "Gross," he complained.

"Yeah, yeah," I waved my hand at him. "Anyway, let Digg know that the first appy that comes through that door is mine."

"OK, but at the moment," Roy reached behind him on the nurse's station and pulled up a stack of charts, "you have to start rounding."

I looked forlornly at him. "Speedy, all I've been doing is stitches and rounding and consulting for the past few weeks. I need to start cutting!"

"After you round."

I pouted, but reluctantly took the charts from him. "When did you turn into a lifeless killjoy, Harper? Who hurt you?"

He didn't answer, but I didn't expect him to. So with a sigh, I went forth to round on the surgical patients.

The last one, as always, was Oliver. Since his room was right next to the nurses' station, I dropped off all the charts I was finished with before I went to his room, anticipating it would likely be a long visit. And though I was anxious to get my gloves wet again, I was also happy to spend time with my favorite patient.

Just as I hit the nurses' station to hand Roy the charts, a tall, dark-haired man leaned on the counter right beside me. "Hello," he greeted warmly.

I looked at him sideways, bemused by his general presence. "Hi," I answered.

"Listen, my friend and I are a bit turned around here, and I thought who better to direct us where we need to be than the most beautiful doctor I think I've ever seen in my life?"

I caught Roy's face and he made a huge show of rolling his eyes. I bit down on my lip to keep myself from laughing.

Then I turned to finally face the stranger who walked up to me. He wasn't exactly Oliver Queen, but he certainly was no slouch either with his dark hair and warm eyes and the way he effortlessly wore a sport coat with a pair of jeans.

"And how exactly can I help you?" I asked, a slight smile spreading over my face.

"Well giving us your name and number would — "

A hand came out of nowhere and smacked the man on the back of his head. He let out a yelp of indignation. "Jesus, Thea, what was that for?"

"For flirting with Ollie's doctor." I followed the hand back to the owner and realized it was none other than Thea Queen, standing in front of me scowling at her companion.

"Thea!" I cried in recognition and without caring how it might have looked to anyone else, I rushed forward and threw my arms around her neck. "Holy crap, what are you doing here?"

"It's a late birthday surprise for Ollie," she answered, returning my hug. "We would have come sooner, but it was the only time Tommy could get away from that stupid bar of his."

"Excuse you," he scoffed. "It's not a bar. It's a high-end club."

She shook her head and turned to me. "Anyway, could you tell us where his room is?"

"Sure. I'm just on my way there now. But you'll have to let me examine him first before you surprise him. Why don't you wait outside the door until I'm finished?"

"Yeah, and then afterward I can let you examine me if you like," Tommy winked.

I'd turned my attention back to Oliver's chart, but the loud shout told me Thea had smacked him once again. The thought made my lips quirk upwards.

With Tommy and Thea at my heels, I walked up to Oliver's room, his chart under my arm. They stayed outside the door when I opened it, well out of sight. He laid on his bed, staring up at the television, completely unsuspecting.

His face lit up when he turned and saw me standing in the doorway and my own face broke out into a smile. I couldn't help it — every time he looked at me with that brightness of his, I had to return it.

"What's up, Doc?"

"Nothing much," I answered as I walked forward and began my examination. "How goes it in the world of Liebesbriefe?"

"Oh, well you would not believe what Georg is up to right now," he answered conspiratorially as I put my stethoscope up to my ears and dipped the bell underneath his gown. He breathed in deeply for me without even asking.

"Is he still trying to off Franz?"

"No! He's trying to impregnate Adelina's younger sister in revenge for Adelina's infidelity, even though she thought Georg was dead when she slept with Franz!"

I clucked and shook my head. "Poor Adelina…"

"I know," Oliver answered solemnly as he leaned forward and let me put the stethoscope to his back. "I mean, what does she even see in him anyway? You can totally tell he's got plugs, and that creepy mustache should have been the immediate tip off that he's a total douche saddle."

I quirked an eyebrow up at him. "Douche saddle?"

He shrugged. "My sister says it."

When I was finished with the examination, he turned off the television and I offered up my hands so he could take them and pull himself out of the bed. He made a few practice steps around the room. I couldn't help the swell of pride I felt when I saw how much stronger and surer his steps were. The strength in his legs were returning, and it was a good thing because he had such nice legs.

"Are you checking me out?" he teased when he saw my glance staying glued to his rather beautiful calf muscles.

"Yes," I answered unapologetically. "That is my job." And thank God for that.

"Uh huh." I stuck my tongue out at his sarcastic tone.

When he was finished walking around the room, he grabbed a sweater off chair and pulled it around him. "So, are you ready for the next round of DT?"

Ordinarily this was when we would take a few laps around the hospital and go through our date training. But considering who was waiting for him outside the door, I just smiled mischievously at him. "Actually, I have a bit of a surprise for you."

His brows furrowed in suspicion and before he could ask, I opened the door to his room and immediately Thea barrelled through.

"Ollie!" she shouted, knocking me out of the way to throw her arms around her brother's shoulders. Instead of being annoyed, I chuckled at her enthusiasm.

Oliver's eyes went wide. "Thea?" he gasped.

"And Tommy," the man himself grinned as he followed Oliver's younger sister into the room. When Thea finally released her older brother, Tommy stepped forward for his turn, wrapping his long arms around the taller man.

"It's so good to see you still in one piece," Tommy smiled. "When Thea told me you were in the hospital, I thought for sure you were dust."

"Thanks for the confidence," Oliver deadpanned. But even from far away I could see the spark of happiness in his blue eyes.

With his surprise safely delivered, I crept toward the door in the hopes of sneaking out without anyone noticing. But sure enough, Oliver caught me before I even touched the door knob.

"Doc, where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

I froze when he caught me. "Out," I answered.

"Why? Stay here! I want you to meet Thea and Tommy!"

"I've already met them."

He rolled his eyes. "You're not getting out of this. Come on, let's go to that crappy hospital cafeteria and get some Jell-O."

And soon Oliver was pulling away from his visitors and grabbing me gently by the wrist so I really didn't have any other option. With a sigh, I resigned myself as he dragged me away and led Thea and Tommy up to the cafeteria.

When we got there, I went and grabbed a few bowls of lime Jell-O because I knew it was Oliver's favorite. I returned with my bounty and Oliver smiled beatifically at me. I couldn't help but smile back.

Thea, on the other hand, didn't seem to have the same high opinion of the jiggly green substance as her brother did. "What the hell is this?" she demanded, a grimace written all over her face.

"A Landstuhl specialty," I answered as I grabbed a spoon and stabbed it into the gelatin.

"The breakfast of champions," Oliver added. "And lunch and dinner, actually."

He scooped up a spoonful from my bowl and I smacked him lightly on the wrist. "You have your own, mister," I chided. "Don't steal mine."

He answered with a cheeky smile, almost as if he knew I was powerless against that bright expression.

Smug bastard.

When I turned back to Thea and Tommy, I noticed they were staring at me with quirked eyebrows that screamed suspicion, so I quickly stuffed some Jell-O in my mouth in an attempt to stop whatever embarrassing ramblings might escape.

"So, tell me," Oliver began, not noticing the weird looks his best friend and his sister were throwing at him, "not that I'm not happy to see the pair of you or anything, but why are you here?"

Thea and Tommy exchanged glances and the former gave a quick nod. So the latter began the explanation. "Well when Thea told me you managed to get yourself blown up, we knew we had to see you no matter what to make sure they were taking proper care of you. We had to make sure the great Oliver Queen himself didn't come back to Starling as an amputee."

I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything. They probably didn't want to hear how hard I had worked to keep Oliver from actually turning into an amputee.

"Besides, we missed you," Thea added. "And with you gone, Mom and Dad are focusing all their attention on me and it's starting to get annoying."

Oliver laughed at that. "So then where does everyone think you are?"

"They think I'm here to investigate a possible investment opportunity for Merlyn Global in Germany," Tommy answered smoothly. "And that my old family friend, Thea Queen, wanted to tag along because she's never been before."

Oliver shot his sister a stern glare. "Hasn't school already started?"

She waved her hand, like that didn't matter in the slightest. "It's senior year."

I chuckled and Oliver turned his glare toward me. I turned up my hands in surrender at the look. "She's got a point, dude. Senior year is kind of useless."

Thea adopted a triumphant expression while Oliver just huffed.

"So tell us for real, Ollie," Tommy said, suddenly serious. "How are you really feeling?"

The man in question sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils. Without thinking, I reached under the table for the hand resting on his knee and laced my fingers through his, squeezing lightly in a show of support. He sent me a quick, grateful smile.

"The recovery process is slow," he replied after a beat. "I was starting to get a pretty serious case of cabin fever after the first week, but I've been walking for the past few weeks and Dr. Smoak here says I'm going to be with a physical trainer soon to get me back to where I was."

"And how about emotionally?" Thea prodded gently.

He smiled softly at his sister and for some reason it made my heart melt to see him so tender with her. "I'm good. No one died that day, and I still have all my limbs. In the Army, that's the most we can ask or hope for."

How well I knew that. But he must have known what I was thinking because it was Oliver's turn to squeeze my hand under the table. The tacit reassurance held the sadness at bay, for which I was grateful.

"OK, it's my turn for a question," he began in an obvious change in subject. "How are things in Starling City?"

"Well the party scene is infinitely more boring," Tommy replied. "I don't have my wingman to talk me up anymore."

Oliver chuckled. "Tommy, you never needed me to talk you up. You're a handsome billionaire, what woman isn't going to go for that?"

His friend grimaced in reply. "More than you'd think."

Maybe if he didn't use so many lame pickup lines that would never have worked on a woman with half a brain, he might have been able to get laid more than he had, I thought to myself, staring down at my Jell-O.

The table went silent and when I looked up, I realized they were all staring at me.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" I sighed.

"Yep," Thea grinned. But she seemed to think it was hilarious, so no love lost with her.

"So tell me, Dr. Smoak," Tommy leaned forward, and immediately my guard went up when I saw his charm had increased by several billion notches, "as a woman of science and a woman of stunning beauty and a woman possessing much more than half a brain, how would I best go about wooing you?"

I couldn't help the involuntary quirk of my lips, but Oliver answered before I could. "Forget it, Tommy. She's way, way out of your league."

He said it lightly, but I noticed the way his shadowed jaw clenched.

What the hell did that mean? I thought to myself, but I clamped down hard on my lips to make sure that thought didn't escape the confines of my brain.

But the brash teenager known as Thea Queen asked the question for me. "What are you saying, Ollie?" she teased. "That Dr. Smoak is too good for the likes of your charming, handsome, billionaire best friend?"

"Yes," he answered without even the slightest pause and I felt my face immediately redden.

I was saved from having to respond by the loud, repetitive beep at my hip. I glanced down and saw a 9-1-1 from Roy. Immediately following was a message that read, "Cutting time."

I smiled as I stood from my seat. "An emergency surgery's come up," I told my Jell-O companions. "I've got to go. Thea, make sure he doesn't over exert himself or push his limits."

"Are you talking about Ollie or Tommy?" she quipped.

I laughed. "Both. I'll talk to you later."

As I ran out of the cafeteria, I heard Tommy say, "I like her."

I didn't bother trying to hide my smile.

The surgery turned out to be a hernia repair that had ruptured on the way to the hospital, so a few complications made it last longer than the usual hour or so. But I didn't mind it. It felt so good to have my hands back in a body, to feel like I was doing something that I was born to do. After feeling so helpless and out of control for the past few weeks, I loved feeling in control and being in my element and knowing that I was saving a life.

When the surgery was over, I dragged myself to the nurses' station and ripped my scrub cap off my head. The last traces of adrenaline in my bloodstream were starting to fade away, and all that was left was writing the very tedious notes in the patient's chart.

"Roy?"

Before I could even ask, he pulled it out and handed it to me. I sent him a grateful smile and he shrugged it off, like the gruff nurse usually did.

As I scribbled in my notes from the surgery, I heard the telltale clacking of heels coming toward me. Looking up, I realized that Colonel Amanda Waller, the commander of the hospital, was headed right toward me. Subconsciously, I straightened to greet her.

"Colonel Waller," I nodded.

"Dr. Smoak," she replied in her usual, no-nonsense tone. "I just got off the phone with a Lieutenant Colonel Slade Wilson. Said he's the commanding officer for CSM Oliver Jonas. I believe you are the lead physician on his case?"

I nodded, feeling a deep sense of dread well up within me.

"I took the liberty of looking into his case, and in your notes it says he's recovering movement at a rapid pace. He's successfully doing laps around the hospital and will begin physical therapy soon."

I nodded again.

"How long do you think his PT will take?"

"Well the normal recovery period — "

"Dr. Smoak, after reading your notes you and I both know that Jonas is not a normal soldier. His range of movement after such a short period is remarkable considering the extent of his injuries when he first came here." She stared at me with such stern eyes that I subconsciously gulped. "How long do you think his PT will take?"

I sucked in a deep breath through my nostrils. "Four to six weeks," I finally answered.

She nodded. "Good. I will tell Wilson."

My jaw dropped. She couldn't be serious! She couldn't send him back there, just ten weeks after he was in an IED attack! That was insane!

She turned to start walking away, but I wasn't finished yet.

"Wait!" I cried. Her footsteps stopped and she turned around to stare at me with a questioning gaze. "Are you honestly thinking of sending him back out there? After he almost got his leg blown off?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You said it yourself, Doctor. He will be well enough to return to his post in four to six weeks and he is the CSM of unit. He's needed in country."

"I didn't say he was well enough to return," I snapped. "I said his PT will take four to six weeks. If you rush him back into battle, you could risk all sorts of injuries, including mental ones! He really shouldn't go back to finish his deployment."

"That is not your call," she bit out sternly. "Your call is to make sure he's well enough in six weeks to return to Jalalabad. If you can't handle that, then maybe someone else should be on the case."

I bit down hard on my lip, glaring at her with all the hatred in my soul. I refused to let another doctor take over Oliver's case. But I also couldn't, in good faith, send him back to Afghanistan. Doing so would be going against my Hippocratic Oath, and there were few things in this world I took as seriously as that.

Colonel Waller must have seen all of it in my face, because she crossed her arms across her chest and fixed me with a steely gaze. "We are in the middle of a war, Dr. Smoak, and Jonas managed to save his squad from going down in that explosion. With men and women dropping like flies around us, our soldiers need the best people out there, leading and protecting. Jonas is one of the best, so he is needed, and his presence could mean the difference between life and death of another soldier.

"I suggest you think long and hard about that before deciding which side of that line you fall on."