What is going on to this city? This isn't the Starling City that i remember. These are just some of the many thoughts running through the mind of Oliver Queen as he sits in silence in the backseat of the Diggle's car looking through the backseat's window at Starling City. A city that he once knew like the back of his hand. But not anymore. Now it's new territory. Restaurants that he once frequently went to along with Laurel were now closed. Small time stores that he would frequently visit along with Laurel and Thea were now non existent and instead were replaced with some of the more popular franchises in the world. Most likely bought out by their competitors.

Even the streets were different. Rows of houses that he used to pass all the time when he was cruising through the town are now different. No longer the well kept houses that he remembered. Instead broken rundown houses laid in their place. Houses that looked as if they had been abandoned. Abandoned by their owners and replaced by the homeless. A sight that he had never seen before. Especially what he sees right now as he feels Diggle bringing the car to a stop. The image of woman and daughter that looked to be as though they were homeless by the way they are dressed standing by a garbage can with a noticeable flame coming out.

" What is this place?"

" This Mr Queen would be The Glades."

" We agreed that you would call me Oliver. Now what do you mean this is The Glades? I don't remember this place being…."

" Like this?"

Taking his eyes away from the light looking through his front mirror Diggle watches Oliver nod his head before he slowly turns his attention to look back up towards the light as he takes a deep breathe.

" It wasn't for the longest time. This place was a peaceful place to live. Just as you remembered. But it hasn't been that way for years. While you were away things started to change all around Starling City. The Glades was one of the things. This part of the city had been slowly taken over by the worse of the worse. You have seen just a small dose for yourself of what has happened to all those that lived in this part of town."

" Why doesn't the police do anything about it then? Surely there has to be someone that is willing to help these people."

" You would think so. But that is where you would be wrong. This part of town has become a no fly zone for the police. Most are too scared fearing for their families lives. These crime lords that own this part of the city are ruthless. They don't fear anybody or anything and don't shy away from breaking the law. If it means killing a police officer and his family to make an example of they will do it. The others however are most likely in the crime lord's pockets.

Because of this slowly this part of town has died. Working class families have been driven out of their homes. More crimes have been reported in this area. The ones that are willing to fight are too scared to do anything. Simply put Oliver the people of The Glades have lost hope. Without any hope they don't have the will in them to fight back."

The Glades? Crime lords? Is this what dad meant when he told me to right his wrongs? Is this his wrong doing? Helping cause this to happen to these people? As he slowly gets lost deeper into his thoughts suddenly Oliver snaps out of his thoughts when he feels the car moving forward again before in a sudden move he snaps his head forward to look at Diggle.

" Stop the car!"

In a sudden move as he feels the car coming to a halt reaching over Oliver opens up the backseat door and proceeds to get out as he sees Diggle looking at him with a confused look before as he takes a deep breathe Oliver slowly makes his way over towards the homeless woman and her child with a small smile forming on his face. After just a few moments as he reaches the homeless woman and her child to see them looking at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity in their eyes slowly as he reaches back to his back pocket suddenly Oliver watches the homeless woman's body tense up from the act before within seconds Oliver slowly pulls out his wallet to show it to the homeless woman. As he watches the homeless woman's eyes light up reaching into his wallet Oliver slowly pulls out a couple of hundred dollar bills and hands to the homeless woman the money as he watches the woman's eyes start to tear up from the act. Looking on as he watches a small smile form on the homeless woman's face a smile forms on his own face before suddenly after staring down in total silence towards the woman for a few seconds Oliver's body tenses up when he feels himself being pulled into an embrace by the woman as he feels tears dropping onto his jacket.

" Thank you. Thank you so much."

For the next few seconds as he listens to the woman sobbing into his shoulder slowly reaching up Oliver wraps his arms around the homeless woman returning the embrace unaware that over in the corner a ghost smile starts to form on Diggle's face from seeing the act in front of him. An act that he never thought he would ever see. An act that slowly makes him wonder if all of the things he had heard about Oliver Queen were true. Things like how he was a spoiled brat that used money to get whatever he wanted. Spoiled to the point where he believed that he was invincible. Including being above the law.

But the man that he sees in front of him isn't like that. No instead he sees something else. A young man that didn't seemed spoiled. Didn't seem to care about money or power. Instead to him it seemed as though he cared more about his loved ones and citizens of Starling City more than his wealth. A sign of a changed man. As he sees Oliver kneeling down to give the little girl a hug unable to resist anymore a small smile forms on the face of Diggle before after a few seconds as he sees Oliver making his way over with the woman and child the smile on his face vanishes into a confused look.

" Alright i'll see you first thing on Monday morning. Remember what i told you. Watch your back out there."

Leaning out of her office chair right as she sees Joanne slowly starting to make her way towards her own desk to grab her things a small smile forms on Laurel's face before she takes her eyes away from Joanne to glance down on her desk when she hears her phone vibrating.

" What? Don't you want to see what happens tomorrow?"

" Oh i already know what is going to happen. Oliver will be risen back up from the dead technically speaking then all hell will break loose thanks to his mother. Thanks but no thanks. I don't want front row tickets to that particular show."

Reaching down as she rolls her eyes Laurel grabs a firm hold of her cell phone from her desk and puts it up to her ear as she gives Joanne a small waive with her free hand.

" Hello….oh hello Judge Sakow….really? That's great. I can't thank you enough….Uh huh….okay i'll see you first thing in the morning. Thanks again."

With a small smile forming across her face Laurel closes her cell phone with a small thud as she slowly stands up to gather her things before moments later she slowly starts to walk through the CNRI building with a bright smile forming on her face. A smile that nobody inside of the building had ever seen before. A smile that Laurel is unable to control as she thinks to herself that things are finally starting to look up to her. No more nights of thinking about questions she would never get the answers too. No more nights of sleeping alone. Instead they would now be filled with moments she would cherish. Moments of happiness. Something that had not happened to her for a long time. Not ever since the day she heard the Queen's Gambit had been lost at sea. The news of hearing she had not only lost Oliver but Sarah as well on this given day to only have Oliver return to her 5 long years later. 5 years that although she had managed to accomplish a few of her goals were hell to her.

Hell in the form of her imagination. Hell with seeing the images of Oliver and Sarah sinking into the sea each and every night. Images that made her slowly distance herself away from her loved ones. Distance herself away from Thea. Distance herself from the little girl that she had known all through her life with the only reason because she reminded her of him. How whenever she saw Thea the image of Oliver would pop into her mind followed by a memory of a similar time.

But no more. No more having to go through hell. No more having to torture herself anymore. She finally has them back. She finally has her family back. And this time she will not allow anybody or anything do harm to them ever again. Even their last living parent. A woman that she knew was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women throughout Starling City. A woman that had major influence in everything that was going on through the city with unlimited resources and connections. Resources that could beat any price tag. Connections that could get her anything she wanted with the snap of her fingers.

What Moira didn't know was she had connections of her own. Connections to some of citizens of Starling City that also shared her enthusiasm for justice. Men and women like herself that would also look to do the right thing not fearing the consequences for their actions.

And the consequences from her next move she knew would be huge. Not only would it cripple and destroy any relationship she had with Moira Queen but it would also lead to what she surely thought to be law suits. Lawsuits by Moira Queen's lawyers. Lawsuits that would try to cripple her not only financially but also bring an end to her career. However even though she knew of the risks she was taking. Knew of what was to come not an ounce of fear is inside of Laurel Lance as she slowly makes her way to the entrance of the CNRI building. No fear knowing whatever was to happen in the coming days,weeks,months,and years that she had them back. She finally had Oliver and Thea back.

Within just mere moments of exiting out of the CNRI building as she reaches into her pocket to grab her car keys suddenly a bright smile forms on the face of Laurel when she looks over into the parking lot to see Oliver leaning against her car with a smile across his face while another car that she had seen at the Queen mansion just a few hours prior sits parked next to her own with the same driver of the vehicle leaning against it sporting a blank look across his face.

" Hi."

" Hi."

As she sees Oliver leaning off her car door without breaking her stride Laurel closes the distance between them before she leans forward and gives Oliver a gentle kiss as she wraps her arms around the back of his neck. Feeling herself getting lost into the kiss slowly Laurel's lips curl up into a smile before she breaks away a few seconds later when she hears an awkward cough coming from her side. As her face starts to blush slightly Laurel glances over to her side to see Diggle avoiding eye contact with her before she slowly turns her head back towards Oliver as she nods her head over in the direction of Diggle.

" So who's your new friend."

" Oh that's Dig. I guess from what happened yesterday my mother decided it would be best to hire some outside protection for Thea and I."

" Outside protection? So she hired a babysitter for you and Thea?"

" Ms Lance if i may? The babysitter line is getting old. Ms Queen already has used that line."

" It still doesn't change the fact that you were hired to babysit Oliver and Thea. Now Mr?"

" Diggle. John Diggle."

" Well Mr Diggle let's just get the facts straight right now. You were hired by Moira Queen yes? You report yourself to her is that correct?"

" Yeah that's right."

" Good now i'm going to only say this once. I know for a fact that neither of Oliver or Thea want or even need your protection. I have nothing personal against you or what you do. I however take offense to what the real reason to why Moira hired you is. The only reason she hired you was not to have you protect Oliver & Thea. No instead she hired you so that she could always keep track of her children. In a sense to invade their privacy for her own personal gain. I will not allow this so here is a little piece of advice. Tell Moira that you quit. Make up some sort of excuse like you have been offered a better job elsewhere. Otherwise if you don't then i will make your life a living hell."

For the next few seconds as she stares into Diggle's eyes with intensity suddenly Laurel watches a small smile form across Diggle's face as he nods his head at Oliver.

" Well i'll give it to you Oliver. She is exactly how you described her."

" Wait! What!?"

Taking her eyes away from Diggle slowly Laurel turns her head to look at Oliver seeing him giving her a small smile.

" And how exactly did you describe me to him? Tell me everything without leaving out one little detail."

" Well i told him that not only were you instantly the smartest person once you entered into a room but you are also incredibly beautiful."

" And that's all that you told him?"

" Well…."

" He also said that you are very scary when angry."

" Dig! I thought you said that you were hired to protect me."

" I was hired to protect you but there are times when someone doesn't need protecting. Besides from where i'm standing you are in safe hands. I'm going to take my leave now as i expect you will be staying with Ms Lance tonight correct?"

As he sees Oliver giving him a nod leaning off his car door Diggle returns the nod before he turns around and slowly opens up his car door.

" I will see you tomorrow. Keep him safe Ms Lance. But be warned. He is a handful."

Without having any chance to react suddenly Laurel watches Diggle drive away out of the CNRI's parking lot and off into the distance before slowly she turns her attention back towards Oliver with a small smile forming on her face.

" You're a handful huh? So what exactly did you do to earn that compliment?"

" Do you remember that small neighborhood that we brought Speedy to when we were teaching her how to drive?"

" Yeah the driving lessons from hell. I still don't understand how she passed her driving test. What about it?"

" Well this morning Thea and I kind of ditched Diggle out in that neighborhood."

Letting out a small laugh Laurel can't help but shake her head at Oliver before just a second later she hears him joining in on her laughter.

" I should have known. Leave it up to Speedy to pull off something like that. So how was her driving? Has it improved since the last time you rode with her?"

Looking on as she watches Oliver shrug his shoulders suddenly Laurel lets out a small laugh before seconds later she hears Oliver joining in on her laughter.

" Oh great. You do realize that if i go with Thea anywhere now and she is the one driving that i'm going to drag you along for the ride right?"

" Are you kidding? If we go anywhere with Thea then were taking a seperate car."

With a bright smile forming across her face as she gives Oliver a small nod slowly Laurel unwraps her arms from around the back of Oliver's neck before she slowly leads Oliver over towards her parked car.

" So what is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"

" Oh that was just an excuse that i made up so that you and I could spend some time alone. You know make up for lost time."

Reaching over as she grabs the handle of the driver's side door glancing over a bright smile forms on Laurel's face when she sees Oliver giving a smile of his own before a few moments later Laurel slowly pulls the car out of the parking lot of the CNRI building and slowly starts to drive down the road in the direction of her apartment complex. After a few minutes of driving down the road in complete silence as she hears a chuckle coming from her side glancing over towards her side Laurel raises an eyebrow at Oliver when she sees him looking at a cell phone in his hands.

" What?"

" Oh i was just checking out some old photos that i had saved in my cellphone. Before i had Diggle drive me around the city, I found my phone inside one of the drawers in my computer desk. Have to say there are some very good photos of you in here."

With her curiosity peaked as she leans over from her seat Laurel glances away from the road in front of her to look down towards the cell phone before suddenly her eyes widen when she sees an old photograph of herself. A very revealing photograph of herself wearing nothing but a small black thong.

" And where did you get that one!?"

" You don't remember? You drunk dialed me at like 4 o'clock in the morning one night pleading with me to come over and see you. This was your motivation. But i must say you always looked good in black."

Glancing away from Oliver as she sees a small line of cars following just behind with a flick of her wrists Laurel pulls the car over to the side of the road and puts the car into park before in a sudden move as she leans over Laurel reaches over to grab the cellphone from Oliver's hands to only see him hold the cellphone further away from her.

" Give me the phone Ollie."

" What? No way. Some of these are keepers. Especially this one."

As she sees Oliver flipping the phone over to show her the cell phone's screen Laurel's eyes widen once again when she sees a different photo of herself across the screen before she lunges forward and attempts to grab the cellphone from his hand once again to receive the same results.

" Ollie! Give me the phone."

" No way."

" Give me the phone Oliver. I'm not gonna hurt you Ollie. I'm just gonna bash your brains in. Bash them right the fuck in."

For the next few seconds as she hears Oliver letting out a small laugh presenting an opening to herself lunging forward Laurel grabs a firm hold of the cellphone and rips it out of his hand before as she is about to lean back into her car seat a bright smile forms on her face when she feels Oliver gently wrapping his arms around her waist.

" I can't believe you went The Shining on me. That is so not fair."

Slowly as her smile widens leaning forward Laurel captures Oliver's lips with her own for a gentle kiss before she pulls back seconds later to give him a bright smile.

" It got the result i wanted didn't it? And it was totally fair. It's not my fault that you're a sucker for that line. Besides…."

Leaning forward Laurel gives Oliver a gentle kiss before within seconds as she feels herself being pulled into his lap Laurel breaks off the kiss to give Oliver a bright smile.

" You loved it. Now i think it would be best we got out of here. You know so we don't have a repeat of what happened last time. You know when you had to sit across from my father inside of the police station trying to explain exactly what we were doing when we were arrested once before."

Receiving a nod as she feels Oliver's grip loosening scooting over Laurel lands back into her seat and puts the car back into drive before moments later she gets back onto the road and starts to head back in the direction of the apartment complex.

" So about tomorrow. What do i exactly have to do?"

" Oh all you have to do is stand before a judge tomorrow morning and read out a small statement that i will help prepare with you. Once that is done your death in absentia judgment will be voided."

Glancing away from the road looking over to the side a concerned look starts to form on the face of Laurel as she watches the smile on Oliver's face slowly vanish away.

" Everything will be alright Ollie. The judge that will be listening to your statement is a friend of mine. Once you read out the statement then she can basically sign on the dotted line and declare you alive once again. If that's what you are worried about?"

" No it's not that. It's just i'm…."

" You're nervous about being in a room filled with a large group of people along with swarms of news reporters just waiting for you outside of the courthouse aren't you?"

With his eyes widening slowly Oliver turns his head to look over towards Laurel seeing her glancing back and forth between him and the road ahead before he takes a deep breathe.

" How did you…."

" Thea told me. She said that when you and her went out to a few stores that you seemed nervous whenever you were around a large group of people. She said that you were sticking close to her inside of each of the stores. Yesterday in the restaurant your eyes were also telling me this. When you thought i wasn't looking you were constantly glancing around the restaurant. At first i thought it was because you were taking in the scenery but that wasn't the case was it? You were glancing around as if you were searching for any possible danger that was around us weren't you?"

As she sees Oliver giving her a slight nod taking a hand off the steering wheel reaching over Laurel grabs a hold of Oliver's hand before she gives it a small squeeze.

" It's going to take time for you to adjust. When you arrived back home i realized that it was going to take you some time to adjust being back. I know this and so does Thea. Time that i have and will always have for you. No matter what though i'm always going to be here for you. I'm going to help you every step of the way."

Author Notes: For all those that are wondering the action will start in the next chapter. Like i stated before Oliver will slowly evolve into the Arrow. The same can be said with Laurel and The Black Canary.

Pootamis