A/N Well, we've reached the end guys. It's been fun, but now I need to return to my true love: the Avengers fandom. :P Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this epilogue and please review one last time and let me know how you felt about this chapter/this story. :)
Oliver stirred slowly, groaning. He opened his eyes slowly, bright lights blinding him. He heard muffled voices, footsteps, and electronic beeps. I took him several minutes to get his barrings but once he did, he glanced around, realizing he was in a hospital room, again. He really needed to stop landing himself in the hospital. He shifted slightly and hissed in pain as his body protested the movement.
He felt like he had been hit by a semi, which had then backed up and run him over again. His chest and ribs were sore to the point of being uncomfortable when breathing and more than painful with the slightest movement. He could feel bandages binding his chest, likely for the broken ribs he was sure he had, and there was a draining tube coming from beneath his shirt so probably a chest tube. The wound in his thigh was bandaged and the leg was swollen to the point that he couldn't even bend his knee if he wanted to. His left shoulder was sore and his right had stiffened completely in its socket and was bound tightly, his arm strapped to his chest to keep the shoulder immobile. But despite all of that, he had won. He allowed himself to have a small, albeit sad, smile. He had won, at great cost, but he had won.
Suddenly, the door to his room opened as Moira, Thea, and Felicity burst in, anxiously voicing their concerns regarding Oliver. Roy, Diggle, and Tommy followed at a less frantic pace. All at once, Oliver was bombarded by voices as Thea, Moira, and Felicity all started talking over each other.
"We step out for one minute and you decide to pick that moment to wake up," Thea scolded.
"We were so worried about you," Moira said.
"Yeah, you have two knife wounds, a gunshot wound, several broken ribs, one of which punctured your lung and you still have a chest tube in. They had to shock you back three times because your heart stopped and you lost a whole lot of blood and you've been unconscious for nearly two days..." Felicity babbled.
The rest of whatever she said was lost in the excitement and Oliver might have also stopped listening. He grunted softly as he was hugged by Thea, who quickly let go of him, an apologetic smile on her face.
"How are you feeling?" Moira asked, once the talking had died down enough.
"I'm fine," Oliver lied, but a pained wince gave him away. "It doesn't matter how I am. What's important is you guys are okay and the city is safe."
The others all shared a look that Oliver couldn't quite decipher.
"What?" Oliver asked, confused. "Is everything okay?"
"Well," Diggle said, holding out that morning's newspaper. "The City knows you're The Arrow, Oliver."
Oliver took the paper and looked at it. There, on the front page was a picture of him fighting Slade, one of Slade's blades angled toward Oliver's head, and Oliver blocking it with his bow, his face clearly exposed.
Oliver looked at it for a long moment.
"Huh," he said at last.
"That's it?" Diggle inquired. "The entire city has just found out that you're The Arrow and all you can say is 'huh'?"
"And after that speech about how careful you are about who you tell your secret to," Felicity said.
"How did they find out?" Oliver asked.
"A news crew were hiding near the fight and got the whole thing on tape. The entire city watched you take Slade down," Tommy said.
Oliver sat up a bit, wincing and another hiss escaping him at the foolish movement. Once the pain passed, he opened his mouth to respond but stopped as the news on the TV caught his eye.
"Hey, turn it up," he said.
Tommy was closest to the T.V. and pushed the button to raise the volume.
"As we have been discussing for the last two days, The Arrow's identity has finally been revealed to be none other than billionaire Oliver Queen. Since finding out this shocking information, the public's support of The Arrow has skyrocketed, with many now saying they want Mr. Queen to run for Mayor in the upcoming election. Not even Sebastian Blood had this much support before The Arrow brought him to justice. The people are now calling Oliver Queen 'The Savior of Starling City'," Tommy reached over and lowered the volume back down.
Oliver turned to Diggle, a small grin spreading across his face.
"I'd say they're taking it rather well," he said, causing most of the people in the room to either roll their eyes or snort in amusement.
"It's been playing almost constantly for the last two days," Sara said, as she stepped into the room. "And Laurel's been talking non-stop to reporters, building up your reputation as The Arrow."
"There is even a huge crowd of people outside the building, all of them just wanting a glimpse of you," Roy said.
"You haven't been this talked about since you died," Tommy joked.
Oliver looked at him, his expression suddenly turning somber.
"I am sorry about your father, Tommy," he said.
Tommy glanced down at the floor before looking back up at Oliver.
"For everything he's done, he did something good in the end," Tommy said, echoing Moira's words from two days before. He was silent for a long moment, his gaze sliding to the window before he looked back and shared a long look with Oliver. "I'm okay," he said finally.
Oliver nodded, a small smile quirking up his lips.
"We found this," Roy said, breaking the silence as he held out Oliver's broken bow. "I guess you'll have to get a new one."
"Not the first time," Oliver said, "but I don't know this time," he said, taking one of the two pieces of the bow in his free hand and fingering the break in the riser. "I think maybe this one lasted as long as it was supposed to. It helped me finish what I originally set out to do. I saved the city," he handed the piece of the bow back to Roy. "They don't need The Arrow anymore."
"You're wrong," a voice said and Oliver turned to see Quentin standing in the doorway. "Although I hate to admit it, this city still needs The Arrow. But maybe this time you can work with the police instead of against us," he said with a grin.
Oliver chuckled. "Yeah, the police really want my help," he said wryly.
"Actually, the bombings took a pretty big toll on law enforcement. They could use all the help they can get, and the city needs protection while they rebuild. Besides, even if the police don't want your help, I do," Quentin said seriously.
Oliver gave him a long, hard look, a silent exchange passing between them before he nodded once. Quentin returned the gesture. Oliver didn't know how or when it happened, but at some point, Quentin Lance had become a friend.
)()()(
Several weeks later, Oliver was finally being released from the hospital. His ribs and chest were still sore but were well on the mend. His shoulders were still giving him trouble and he had to use a cane thanks to the still healing gunshot wound to his leg, but he was finally allowed to go home.
Surprisingly enough, although Oliver didn't think getting released was such a big deal, his family and friends showed up anyway. Moira, Thea, Diggle, Felicity, Roy, Tommy, and even Sara, Laurel, and Quentin Lance all came too.
Tommy and Sara had been prepared to leave the city, to keep The League from coming after them, but Oliver had convinced them to stay, almost bringing himself to begging. He had finally gotten Tommy back and Laurel and her father had gotten Sara back, Oliver didn't want to lose either of them again.
It had taken convincing, but Oliver had succeed in not only getting them to stay, but also convinced them to team up with The Arrow to help protect the city. And that wasn't all. At Thea's request, he had finally let Roy join the team. Oliver smirked as he remembered Roy's reaction.
The look on Roy's face when Oliver presented him with a red version of his Arrow outfit had been priceless. Now The Arrow wasn't the only protector of Starling City. The people had redubbed Oliver The Green Arrow, named Roy Red Arrow, Tommy got the title of Black Arrow, and thanks to her last name, Sara was christened Black Lance. Apparently, as far as coming up with names went, Starling City wasn't the most creative and the team was trying very hard to get the people to change the names to pretty much anything else.
Oliver reached out to grab his bag but Diggle beat him to it, giving Oliver a look that said he wasn't letting Oliver carry anything with his leg still on the mend. Oliver rolled his eyes but didn't argue.
Together the large group of people made their way to the bottom floor and toward the hospital doors. Oliver knew something was up. He didn't survive the island without becoming observant and it wasn't hard to notice all nine of the people with him suddenly slowing their pace to flank him. He was having to go slow as he hobbled along with his cane, so for them to slow even more to get behind him, he knew something was going on, but he decided to trust them that whatever it was, wasn't deadly or anything. And even if it was, he was in a hospital so he figured he was covered.
He finally made it to the doors and stepped outside, immediately drawing up short at the sudden deafening cheers that arose from the massive crowd gathered in front of the hospital. Oliver stared at the people in awed silence. He had known that he had the support of the city but to see so many people waiting outside the hospital just to see him off was overwhelming.
The others stood behind him, smiling widely as they watched. He was finally getting the recognition he deserved. Finally, people were seeing the real Oliver Queen, the man they had, for so long, known he could be. The city finally saw him the way they did. Oliver Queen aka The Arrow, the Savior of Starling City, was a good man.
After a moment, Oliver stepped forward into the crowd and immediately people started reaching out to shake his hand or just to touch his arm. Everywhere he looked, people were thanking him, telling him they were glad he was okay, telling him about loved ones he had saved and people who were still alive and well thanks to him. It was overwhelming and more than a little humbling.
Oliver readily returned the handshakes and spoke to as many as he could. Never had he had this much positive attention. Before, anytime there were this many people around him, they were yelling and screaming at him and even trying to hit him. People had never loved him before much less outright adored him.
It took him a while to move through the crowd as he stopped several times to speak to different people, but eventually the car came into sight. He was almost there when he felt a tug on his pants leg and looked down to see a little girl about five or six looking up at him. He smiled at her, and slowly, with some difficulty, he managed to lower himself to one knee before her, having to lean heavily on his cane and keep his injured leg straight to do so, but it was worth it as he saw the bright smile the little girl gave him.
"What's your name?" Oliver asked, noting how quiet the people around them had gotten so they could hear what he said.
"Lily," she said shyly.
"Nice to meet you, Lily," Oliver said with a smile. "Did you have something you wanted to tell me?" he asked.
She nodded her head. "I wanted to thank you for saving my daddy."
Oliver stared at her in astonishment, taking a minute to find his voice.
"How did I save your daddy?" he asked.
"You saved him from the bad men," Lily said, somewhat unhelpfully.
Another voice had Oliver looking up to see a woman, who he guessed was the little girl's mother, move to stand behind her.
"He was one of the hostages in that bank robbery you stopped last month," she explained.
Oliver remembered that bank robbery. The robbers had taken several people hostage and the police negotiations had been going nowhere. Oliver had stormed into the bank, taken down the men, and rescued the hostages before disappearing again.
"It was my pleasure, Lily," he said.
Lily then surprised him again as she suddenly reached forward and wrapped her little arms around his neck. He readily returned the hug, gently wrapping his big arms around her tiny frame.
"I love you Arrow," she said.
He gave her a big smile as she pulled away, her whole face lighting up as she smiled in return. Her mother thanked him, either for talking to the girl or for saving her husband, Oliver wasn't sure, before leading Lily back to the edge of the crowd.
Oliver spent the next few seconds trying to figure out how to get back up. He could just use his cane to lever himself to his feet, but that would pull on his still sore shoulders. He was no stranger to pain, but he was also no masochist and he couldn't stay there on one knee forever. He was just about to bite the bullet and pull himself back to his feet despite his shoulders, when he felt a hand on his arm, and looked up to see Tommy next to him.
Oliver gave his best friend a grateful look, gripping Tommy's shoulder as he helped Oliver to his feet. Apparently, the the fact that he had taken the time and effort to kneel down and talk to the little girl had endeared him even more with everyone as the cheering and applause picked up once more and it took them another five minutes to make it to the car that was only about ten feet away.
It was going to take some getting used to, but Oliver thought it might not be so bad having the city know who he was.
)()()(
It had taken some weeks, but Starling City had mostly calmed down. The city still loved and adored Oliver, especially as he did everything he could, both as The Arrow and as Oliver Queen, to help the city recover. However, the excitement of him being The Arrow, while still big, was somewhat overshadowed now as everyone was focused on rebuilding.
Quentin Lance stood on the roof of the building acting as the temporary police station until they finished rebuilding the old one, his eyes watching the sky.
"Officer Lance," a disguised voice greeted him.
He turned around to see The Arrow standing there, next to the roof's spotlight.
"It's actually Detective now. They reinstated me, thanks to you. And when the commissioner retires next month, the job is apparently mine."
"Congratulations," the green clad man said with a nod.
"You don't need to use that voice modulator thing anymore you know. We're on the same side now, Oliver," Lance said with a smirk.
Oliver shrugged but turned the modulator off and even pushed his hood back.
"Force of habit," he said.
"Well, you'd better break it, seeing as how the entire city knows who you are now. Your secrecy and anonymity have gone right out the window," Quentin said, grinning as Oliver winced at the thought.
"Oh, well," Oliver finally said with a shrug. "Could be worse I guess." Then he walked over to the spotlight Lance was standing next to and tapped the base of it. "You are kidding me with this, right?"
In the sky, the spotlight projected a bow-and-arrow symbol into the clouds.
"It works pretty well with that other guy," Quentin said, sounding completely unapologetic.
Oliver reached over and shut it off.
"There's an easier way," he said.
"Yeah, I could just call Queen mansion, or your nightclub," Quentin joked.
Oliver just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"You're as bad as Tommy," he said before holding out a phone to the detective. "The number in this phone is one I keep with me at all times. You need help, use it."
Lance nodded, taking the phone and tucking it safely away.
"I never did apologize for all the grief I caused you and your family. It was–"
"Don't. It's already forgotten," Oliver said, holding up his hand.
Quentin nodded and turned to look out at the city for a moment before speaking without turning around.
"Then I guess all that's left to say is thank you…" his voice trailed off as he turned around, finding himself alone again and shaking his head as a grin stretched across his face, "for saving this city."
And that's it guys. I hope you all enjoyed it, and feel free to give me a review one last time! :)